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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


GIFT  OF 

Professor 
Benjamin  H.   Lehman 


WESTWARD    HO! 


o« 


THE  VOYAGES  AND  ADVENTURES  OF 

SIR  AMYAS  LEIGH,  KNIGHT, 

OF  BURROUGH,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  DEVON, 

m  THE  REIGN  OF  HER  MOST  GLORIOUS  MAJESTY 

QUEEN  ELIZABETH. 


RENDERED  INTO   MODERN  ENGLISH 


J3Y 

CHARLES  KINGSLEY- 


New  York:  46  East  Fourteenth  Street 

THOMAS   Y.    CROWELL   &   CO. 

Boston:  100  Pttrchase  Street 


Add  to  Lib, 


GIFT 


TO 

THE  RAJAH  SIR  JAMES  BROOKE,  K.C.B 

AND 

GEORGE  AUGUSTUS  SELWYN,  D.D. 

BISHOP   OF    NHW  ZEALAND. 

Sljts  Book  10  DrlJicateb 

BY  ONE  WHO  (UNKNOWN  TO  THEM)  HAS  NO  OTHER  METHOD  OF  EX- 
PRESSING HIS  ADMIRATION  AND  REVERENCE  FOR  THEIR  CHARACTERS. 
THAT  TYPE  OF  ENGLISH  VIRTUE,  AT  ONCE  MANFUL  AND  GODLY, 
PRACTICAL  AND  ENTHUSIASTIC,  PRUDENT  AND  SELF-SACRIFICING, 
WHICH  HE  HAS  TRIED  TO  DEPICT  IN  THESE  PAGES,  THEY  HAVE  EX- 
HIBITED IN  A  FORM  EVEN  PURER  AND  MORE  HEROIC  THAN  THAT  IN 
WHICH  HE  HAS  DREST  IT,  AND  THAN  THAT  IN  WHICH  IT  WAS  EXHIBITED 
BY  THE  WORTHIES  WHOM  ELIZABETH,  WITHOUT  DISTINCTION  OF  RANK 
OR  AGE,  GATHERED  ROUND  HER  IN  THE  EVER  GLORIOUS  WARS  OF  HER 
GREAT  REIGN. 

C.K. 

Fthmary^  1855. 


698 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PACK 

I.  How  Mr.  Oxenham  saw  the  White  Bird 7 

II.  How  Amyas  came  Home  the  First  time 21 

III.  Of  two  Gentlemen  of  Wales,  and  how  they  hunted  with 

the  Hounds,  and  yet  ran  with  the  Deer 46 

IV.  The  two  Ways  of  being  crost  in  Love 60 

V.  Clovelly  Court  in  the  Olden  Time 79 

VI.  The  Coombes  of  the  Far  West 99 

VII.  The  true  and  tragical  History  of  Mr.  John  Oxenham  of 

Plymouth 106 

VIII.  How  the  Noble  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose  was  founded 138 

IX.  How  Amyas  kept  his  Christmas  Day 152 

X.  How  the  Mayor  of   Bideford  baited  his   Hook  with  his 

own  Flesh 179 

XI.  How  Eustace  Leigh  met  the  Pope's  Legate 187 

XII.  How  Bideford  Brid;^e  dined  at  Annery  House 201 

XIII.  How  the  Golden  Hind  came  Home  again 222 

XIV.  How  Salvation  Yeo  slew  the  King  of  the  Gubbings 229 

XV.  How  Mr.  John  Brimblecombc  understood  the  Nature  of 

an  Oath 248 

XVI.  The  most  Chivalrous  Adventure  of  the  Good  Ship  Rose. .   256 
XVII.  How  they  cams  to  Barbados,  and  found  no  men  therein. .   269 

XVIII.  How  they  took  the  Pearls  at  Margarita 274 

XIX.  What  befell  at  La  Guayra 283 

XX.  Spanish  Bloodhounds  and  English  Mastiffs 302 

XXI.  How  they  took  the  Communion  under  the  tree  at  Higue- 

rote 321 

XXII.  The  Inquisition  in  the  Indies 334 

XXHL  The  Banks  of  the  M^ 337 


fV  CONTENTS. 

XXIV.  How  Amyas  was  tempted  of  the  devil , 350 

XXV.  How  they  took  the  Gold-train 367 

XXVI.  How  they  took  the  Great  GaUeon 388 

XXVII.  How  Salvation  Yeo  found  his  Little  Maid  again 412 

XXVIII.  How  Amyas  came  Home  the  Third  Time 423 

XXIX.  How  the  Virginia  Fleet  was  stopped  by  the  Queen's 

Command 434 

XXX.  How    the    Admiral    John    Hawkins    testified     against 

Croakers 454 

XXXI.  The  Great  Armada 466 

XXXII.  How  Amyas  threw  his  Sword  into  the  Sea 480 

KXXIII.  How  Amyas  let  the  Apple  fall 495 


WESTWARD  HOI 


CHAPTER  I. 
HOW  MR.  OXENHAM  SAW  THE  WHITE  BIRD. 

"  The  hollow  oak  our  palace  is, 
Our  heritage  the  sea." 

All  who  have  travelled  through  the  delicious  scenery  of  North 
Devon  must  needs  know  the  little  white  town  of  Bideford  which 
slopes  upwards  from  its  broad  tide-river  paved  with  yellow  sands, 
and  many-arched  old  bridge  where  salmon  wait  for  Autumn  floods, 
toward  the  pleasant  upland  on  the  west.  Above  the  town  the 
hills  close  in,  cushioned  with  deep  oak  woods,  through  which  juts 
here  and  there  a  crag  of  fern-fringed  slate  ;  below  they  lower,  and 
open  more  and  more  in  softly-rounded  knolls,  and  fertile  squares 
of  red  and  green,  till  they  sink  into  the  wide  expanse  of  hazy  flats, 
rich  salt-marshes,  and  rolling  sand-hills,  where  Torridge  joins  her 
sister  Taw,  and  both  together  flow  quietly  toward  the  broad 
surges  of  the  bar,  and  the  everlasting  thunder  of  the  long  Atlantic 
swell.  Pleasantly  the  old  town  stands  there,  beneath  its  soft 
Italian  sky,  fanned  day  and  night  by  the  fresh  ocean  breeze,  which 
forbids  alike  the  keen  winter  frosts,  and  the  fierce  thunder  heats 
of  the  midland  ;  and  pleasantly  it  has  stood  there  for  now,  perhaps, 
eight  hundred  years  since  the  first  Grenvil,  cousin  of  the  Conqueror, 
returning  from  the  conquest  of  South  Wales,  drew  round  him 
trusty  Saxon  serfs,  and  free  Norse  rovers  with  their  golden  curls, 
and  dark  Silurian  Britons  from  the  Swansea  shore,  and  all  the 
mingled  blood  which  still  gives  to  the  seaward  folk  of  the  next 
county  their  strength  and  intellect,  and  even  in  these  levelling 
days,  their  peculiar  beauty  of  face  and  form. 

But  at  the  time  whereof  I  write,  Bideford  was  not  merely  a 
pleasant  country  town,  whose  quay  was  haunted  bv  a  few  coast- 
mg  craft.  It  was  one  of  the  chief  ports  of  Englancl ;  it  furnished 
seven  ships  to  fight  the  Armada  :  even  more  than  a  century  after- 
wards, says  the  chroniclers,  "it  sent  more  vessels  to  the  northeru 


8  WESTWARD  Hot 

trade  than  any  port  in  England,  saving  (strange  juxtaposition  !) 
London  and  Topsnam,"  and  was  the  centre  of  a  local  civilization 
and  enterprise,  small,  perhaps  compared  with  the  vast  efforts  of 
the  present  day  :  but  who  dare  despise  the  day  of  small  things,  if 
it  has  proved  to  be  the  dawn  of  mighty  ones  ?  And  it  is  to  the 
sea-lite  and  labor  of  Bide/ord,  and  Dartmouth,  and  Topsham,  and 
Plymouth  (then  a  petty  place),  and  many  another  little  westcrrt 
town,  tha+  England  owes  the  foundation  of  her  naval  and  com^ 
mercial  glory.  It  was  the  men  of  Devon,  the  Drakes  and  Hawkins, 
Gilberts  and  Raleighs,  Grenvils  and  Oxenhams,  and  a  host  more 
of  "  forgotten  worthies,"  whom  we  shall  learn  one  day  to  honor 
as  they  deserve,  to  whom  she  owes  her  commerce,  her  colonies, 
her  very  existence.  For  had  they  not  first  crippled,  by  their  West 
Indian  raids,  the  ill-gotten  resources  of  the  Spaniard,  and  then 
crushed  his  last  huge  effort  in  Britain's  Salamis,  the  glorious  fight 
of  1588,  what  had  we  been  by  now,  but  a  Popish  appanage  of  a 
world-tyranny  as  cruel  as  heathen  Rome  itself,  and  far  more 
devilish  ? 

It  is  in  memory' of  these  men,  their  voyages  and  their  battles, 
their  faith  and  their  valor,  their  heroic  lives  and  no  less  heroic 
deaths,  that  I  write  this  book  ;  and  if  now  and  then  I  shall  seem 
to  warm  into  a  style  somewhat  too  stilted  and  pompous,  let  me  be 
excused  for  my  subject's  sake,  fit  rather  to  have  been  sung  than 
said,  and  to  have  proclaimed  to  all  true  English  hearts,  not  as  a 
novel  but  as  an  epic  (which  some  man  may  yet  gird  himself  to 
write),  the  same  great  message  which  the  songs  of  Troy,  and  the 
Persian  wars,  and  the  trophies  of  Marathon  and  Salamis,  spoke  to 
the  hearts  of  all  true  Greeks  of  old. 

One  bright  summer's  afternoon,  in  the  year  of  grace  1575,  a  tall 
and  fair  boy  came  lingering  along  Bideford  quay,  in  his  scholar's 
gown,  with  satchel  and  slate  in  hand,  watching  wistfully  the  ship- 
ping and  the  sailors,  till,  just  after  he  had  passed  the  bottom  of 
the  High  Street,  he  came  opposite  to  one  of  the  many  taverns 
which  looked  out  upon  the  river.  In  the  open  bay  window  sat 
merchants  and  gentlemen,  discoursing  over  their  afternoon's 
draught  of  sack  ;  and  outside  the  door  was  gathered  a  group  of 
sailors,  listening  earnestly  to  some  one  who  stood  in  the  midst. 
The  boy,  all  alive  for  any  sea-news,  must  needs  go  up  to  them, 
and  take  his  place  among  the  sailor-lads  who  were  peeping  and 
whispering  under  the  elbows  of  the  men  ;  and  so  canie  in  for  the 
following  speech,  delivered  in  a  loud  bold  voice,  with  a  strong 
Devonshire  accent,  and  a  fair  sprinkling  of  oaths. 

"If  you  don't  believe  me,  go  and  see,  or  stay  here  and  grow 
all  over  blue  mould.  I  tell  you,  as  I  am  a  gentleman,  I  saw  it 
with  these  eyes,  and  so  did  Salvation  Yeo,  there,  through  a 
window  in  the  lower  room  ;  and  we  measured  the  heap,  as  I  am  a 
Christian  man,  seventy  foot  long,  ten  foot  broad,  and  twelve  foot 
high,  of  silver  bars,  and  each  bar  betv/een  a  thirty  and  forty 
pound   weight.     And  says  Captain  Drake:   *  There,  my  lads  of 


I 


WESTWARD  not  ^ 

Devon,  iVe  Drougrtt  you  fo  the  mouth  of  the  world's  treasure- 
house,  and  it's  your  own  fault  now  if  you  don't  sweep  it  out  as 
empty  as  a  stock-fish.'  " 

"  Why  didn't  you  bring  some  of  they  home,  then,  Mr.  Oxen- 
ham  ?  " 

"  Why  weren't  you  there  to  help  to  carry  them  ?  We  would 
have  brought  'em  away,  safe  enough,  and  young  Drake  and  I  had 
broke  the  door  abroad  already,  but  Captain  Drake  goes  off  in  a 
dead  faint  ;  and  when  we  came  to  look,  he  had  a  wound  in  his  leg 
you  might  have  laid  three  fingers  in,  and  his  boots  were  full  ot 
blood,  and  had  been  for  an  hour  or  more  ;  but  the  heart  of  him 
was  that,  that  he  never  knew  it  till  he  dropped,  and  then  his 
brother  and  I  got  him  away  to  the  boats,  he  kicking  and  strug- 

ling,  and  bidding  us  let  him  go  on  with  the  fight,  though  every  step 
le  took  in  the  sand  was  in  a  pool  of  blood  ;  and  so  we  got  off".  And 
tell  me,  ye  sons  of  shotten  herrings,  wasn't  it  worth  more  to  save 
him  than  the  dirty  sdver  ?  for  silver  we  can  get  again,  brave  boys: 
there's  more  fish  in  the  sea  than  ever  came  out  of  it,  and  more 
silver  in  N ombre  de  Dios  than  would  pave  all  the  streets  in  the 
west  country  :  but  of  such  captains  as  Franky  Drake,  Heaven 
never  makes  but  one  at  a  time  ;  and  if  we  lose  him,  good-bye  to 
England's  luck,  say  I,  and  who  don't  agree,  let  him  choose  his 
weapons,  and  I'm  his  man." 

He  who  delivered  this  harangue  was  a  tall  and  sturdy  per- 
sonage, with  a  florid  black-bearded  face,  and  bold  restless  dark 
eyes,  who  leaned,  with  crossed  legs  and  arms  akimbo,  against  the 
wall  of  the  house  ;  and  seemed  in  the  eyes  of  the  school-boy  a  very 
magnifico,  some  prince  or  duke  at  least.  He  was  dressed  (con- 
trary to  all  sumptuary  laws  of  the  time)  in  a  suit  of  crimson  velvet, 
a  little  the  worse,  perhaps,  for  wear  ;  by  his  side  were  a  long 
Spanish  rapier  and  a  brace  of  daggers,  gaudy  enough  about  the 
hilts  ;  his  fingers  sparkled  with  rings  ;  he  had  two  or  three  gold 
chains  about  his  neck,  and  large  earrings  in  his  ears,  behind  one 
of  which  a  red  rose  was  stuck  jauntily  enough  among  the  glossy 
black  curls  ;  on  his  head  was  a  broad  velvet  Spanish  hat,  in  which 
instead  of  a  feather  was  fastened  Vvith  a  great  gold  clasp  a  whole 
Quezal  bird,  whose  gorgeous  plumage  of  fretted  golden  green 
shone  like  one  entire  precious  stone.  As  he  finished  his  speech, 
he  took  off  the  said  hat,  and  looking  at  the  bird  in  it — 

"  Look  ye,  my  lads,  did  you  ever  see  such  a  fowl  as  that  before  ? 
That's  the  bird  which  the' old  Indian  kings  of  Mexico  let  no  one 
wear  but  their  own  selves  ;  and  therefore  I  wear  it, — I,  John  Oxen- 
ham  of  South  Tawton,  for  a  sign  to  all  brave  lads  of  Devon,  that 
as  the  Spaniards  are  the  masters  of  the  Indians,  we're  the  masters 
of  the  Spaniards  :  "  and  he  replaced  his  hat. 

A  murmur  of  applause  followed  .  but  one  hinted  that  he."  doubted 
the  Spaniards  were  too  many  for  them." 

"  Too  many  ?  How  many  men  did  we  take  Nombre  de  Dios 
with  ?  Seventy -three  were  we,  and  no  more  when  we  sailed  out 
of  Plnmouth  Sound  ;  and  before  we  saw  the  Spanish  Main,  hall 


,o  WESTWARD  HO  I 

were  'gastados,'  used  up,  as  the  Dons  say,  with  the  scurvy  ;  and 
in  Port  Pheasant  Captain  Rawse  of  Cowes  fell  in  with  us,  and  that 
gave  us  some  thirty  hands  more  ;  and  with  that  handful,  my  lads, 
only  fifty-three  in  all,  we  picked  the  lock  of  the  new  world  !  And 
whom  did  we  lose  but  our  trumpeter,  who  stood  braying  like  an 
ass  in  the  middle  of  the  square,  instead  of  taking  care  of  his 
neck  like  a  Christian  ?  I  tell  you,  those  Spaniards  are  rank  cow- 
ards, as  all  bullies  are.  They  pray  to  a  woman,  the  idolatrous 
rascals  !  and  no  wonder  they  fight  like  women." 

"  You'm  right,  Captain,"  sang  out  a  tall  gaunt  fellow,  who  stood 
close  to  him;  "one  westcountryman  can  fight  two  easterlings, 
and  an  easterling  can  beat  three  Dons  any  day.  Eh,  my  lads  of 
Devon  ? 

"  For  O  !  it's  the  herrir.gs  and  the  good  brown  beer| 
And  the  cider  and  the  cream  so  white  ; 
O  1  they  are  the  making  of  the  jolly  Devon  lads. 
For  to  play,  and  eke  to  fight.  ' 

"  Come,"  said  Oxenham,  "  come  along  !  Who  lists  ?  who  lists  ? 
who'll  make  his  fortune  ? 

"  Oh,  who  will  join,  jolly  mariners  all  ? 
And  wlio  will  join,  says  he,  O  I 
To  fill  his  pockets  with  the  eood  red  goold, 
By  sailing  on  the  sea,  0  1" 

••  Who'll  list  }  "  cried  the  gaunt  man  again  ;  "  now's  your  time  I 

We've  got  forty  men  to  Plymouth  now,  ready  to  sail  the  minute  we 
get  back,  and  we  want  a  dozen  out  of  you  Bideford  men,  and  just 
a  boy  or  two,  and  then  we'm  off  and  away,  and  make  our  fortunes, 
or  go  to  heaven. 

"  Our  bodies  in  the  sea  so  deep, 
Our  souls  in  heaven  to  rest  I 
Where  valiant  seamen,  one  and  all| 
Hereafter  shall  be  blest  t  " 

*'  Now,"  said  Oxenham,  "  you  won't  let  the  Plymouth  men  say 
that  the  Bideford  men  daren't  follow  them  ?  North  Devon  against 
South,  it  is.  Who'll  join  ?  Who'll  join  ?  It  is  but  a  step  of  a 
way,  after  all,  and  sailing  as  smooth  as  a  duck-pond  as  soon  as 
you're  past  Cape  Finisterre.  I'll  run  a  Clovelly  herring-boat  there 
and  back  for  a  wager  of  twenty  pound,  and  never  ship  a  bucket- 
ful all  the  way.  Who'll  join  ?  Don't  think  you're  buying  a  pig  in 
a  poke.  I  know  the  road,  and  Salvation  Yeo,  here,  too,  who  was 
the  gunner's  mate,  as  well  as  I  do  the  narrow  seas,  and  better. 
You  ask  him  to  show  you  the  chart  of  it,  now,  and  see  if  he  don't 
tell  you  over  the  ruttier  as  well  as  Drake  nimself." 

On  which  the  gaunt  man  pulled  from  under  his  arm  a  gTe?\ 
white  buffalo  horn  covered  with  rough  etchings  of  land  and  se«», 
and  held  it  up  to  the  admiring  ring. 

"  See  here,  boys  all,  and  behold  the   pictur  of  the  place,  dra'ed 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


n 


out  so  natural  as  ever  was  life.  I  got  mun  from  a  Portingal,  down 
to  the  Azores  ;  and  he'd  pricked  mun  out,  and  pricked  mun  out, 
wheresoever  he'd  sailed,  and  whatsoever  he'd  seen.  Take  mun  in 
your  hands  now,  Simon  Evans,  take  mun  in  your  hands  ;  look  mun 
over,  and  I'll  warrant  you'll  know  the  way  in  five  minutes  so  well 
as  ever  a  shark  in  the  seas." 

And  the  horn  was  passed  from  hand  to  hand  ;  while  Oxenham 
who  saw  that  his  hearers  were  becoming  moved,  called  through 
the  open  window  for  a  great  tankard  of  sack,  and  passed  that  troit» 
hand  to  hand,  after  the  horn. 

The  school-boy,  who  had  been  devouring  with  eyes  and  ears  all 
which  passed,  and  had  contrived  by  this  time  to  edge  himselt  into 
the  inner  ring,  now  stood  face  to  face  with  the  hero  of  the  emerald 
crest,  and  got  as  many  peeps  as  he  could  at  the  wonder.  But  when 
he  saw  the  sailors,  one  after  another,  having  turned  it  over  a 
while,  come  forward  and  offer  to  join  Mr.  Oxenham,  his  soul 
burned  within  him  for  a  nearer  view  of  that  wondrous  horn,  as 
magical  in  its  effects  as  that  of  Tristrem,  or  the  enchanter's  in 
Ariosto  ;  and  when  the  group  had  somewhat  broken  up,  and  Ox- 
enham was  going  into  the  tavern  with  his  recruits,  he  asked  bol  i- 
ly  for  a  nearer  sight  of  the  marvel,  which  was  granted  at  once. 

And  now  to  his  astonished  gaze  displayed  themselves  cities  and 
harbors,  dragons  and  elephants,  whales  which  fought  with  sharks, 
plate  ships  of  Spain,  islands  with  apes  and  palm-trees,  each  with 
its  name  over-written,  and  here  and  there,  "  Here  is  gold  "  ;  and 
again,  "  Much  gold  and  silver  "  ;  inserted  most  probably,  as  the 
words  were  in  English,  by  the  hands  of  Mr.  Oxenham  himself. 
Lingeringly  and  longingly  the  boy  turned  it  round  and  round,  and 
thought  the  owner  of  it  more  fortunate  than  Khan  or  Kaiser.  Oh, 
if  he  could  but  possess  that  horn,  what  needed  he  on  earth  beside 
to  make  him  blest  ! 

"  I  say,  will  you  sell  this  .''  " 

'*  Yea,  merry,  or  my  own  soul,  if  I  can  get  the  worth  of  it." 

•'  I  want  the  horn, — I  don't  want  your  soul  ;  it's  somewhat  of  a 
stale  sole,  for  aught  I  know  ;  and  there  are  plenty  of  fresh  ones  in 
the  bay." 

And  therewith,  after  much  fumbling,  he  pulled  out  a  tester  (the 
only  one  he  had),  and  asked  if  that  would  buy  it  ? 

"  That !  no,  nor  twenty  of  them." 

The  boy  thought  over  what  a  good  knight-errant  would  do  in 
such  case,  and  then  answered,  "  Tell  you  what :  I'll  fight  you 
for  it." 

"  Thank'ee,  sir  !  " 

"  Break  the  jackanapes's  head  for  him,  Yeo,"  said  Oxenham. 

"Call  me  jackanapes  again,  and  I  break  yours,  sir."  And  the 
boy  lifted  his  fist  fiercely. 

Oxenham  looked  at  him  a  minute  smilingly.  "  Tut !  tut !  mv 
man,  hit  one  of  your  own  size,  if  you  will,  and  spare  little  folk 
like  me  !  " 

'•  If  I  have  a  boy's  age,  sir,  I  have  a  man's  fist.     I  shall  be  fifteen 


1 2  WESTWARD  HO  t 

years  old  this  month,  and  know  how  to  answer  any  one  who  ii> 
suits  me." 

"  Fifteen,  my  young  cockerel  ?  you  look  liker  twenty,"  said  Ox* 
enham,  with  an  admiring  glance  at  the  lad's  broad  limbs,  keen 
blue  eyes,  curling  golden  locks,  and  round  honest  face.  "  P'ifteen  't 
If  I  had  half-a-dozen  such  lads  as  you,  I  would  make  knights  of 
them  before  I  died.     Eh,  Yeo  ?  " 

"  He'll  do,"  said  Yeo  ;  "  he  will  make  a  brave  gamecock  in 
year  or  two,  if  he  dares  ruffle  up  so  early  at  a  tough  old  hen-mas- 
ter like  the  Captain." 

At  which  there  was  a  general  laugh,  in  which  Oxenham  joined 
as  loudly  as  any,  and  then  bade  the  lad  tell  him  why  he  was  so 
keen  after  the  horn. 

"  Because,"  said  he,  looking  up  boldly,  "  I  want  to  go  to  sea. 
I  want  to  see  the  Indies.  I  want  to  fight  the  Spaniards.  Though 
I  am  a  gentleman's  son,  I'd  a  deal  liever  be  a  cabin-boy  on  board 
your  ship."  And  the  lad,  having  hurried  out  his  say  fiercely 
enough,  dropped  his  head  again. 

"  And  you  shall,"  cried  Oxenham,  with  a  great  oath  ;  "  and 
take  a  galloon,  and  dine  off  carbonadoed  Dons.  Whose  son  are 
you,  my  gallant  fellow  t  " 

"  Mr.  Leigh's,  of  Burrough  Court." 

"  Bless  his  soul  !  I  know  him  as  well  as  I  do  the  Eddystone, 
and  his  kitchen  too.     Who  sups  with  him  to-night  ?  " 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenvil." 

"  Dick  Grenvil  ?  I  did  not  know  he  was  in  town.  Go  home 
and  tell  your  father  John  Oxenham  will  come  and  keep  him  com- 
pany. There,  ofi  with  you  !  I'll  make  all  straight  with  the  good 
gentleman,  and  you  shall  have  your  venture  with  me  ;  and  as  for 
the  horn,  let  him  have  the  horn,  Yeo,  and  I'll  give  you  a  noble 
lor  it." 

"  Not  a  penny,  noble  Captain.  If  young  master  will  take  a 
poor  manner's  gift,  there  it  is,  for  the  sake  of  his  love  to  the  call- 
ing, and  Heaven  send  him  luck  therein."  And  the  good  fellow, 
with  the  impulsive  generosity  of  a  true  sailor,  thrust  the  horn  into 
the  boy's  hands,  and  walked  away  to  escape  thanks, 

"  And  now,"  quoth  Oxenham,  "  my  merry  men  all,  make  up 
your  minds  what  mannered  men  you'be  minded  to  be  before  you 
take  your  bounties.  I  wane  none  of  your  rascally  lurching  long- 
shore vermin,  who  get  five  pounds  out  of  this  captain,  and  ten 
out  of  that,  and  let  him  sail  without  them  after  all,  while  they  are 
stowed  away  under  women's  mufflers,  and  in  tavern  cellars.  If 
any  man  is  of  that  humor,  he  had  better  to  cut  himself  up,  and 
salt  himself  down  in  a  barrel  for  pork,  before  he  meets  me  again  ; 
for  by  this  light,  let  me  catch  him,  be  it  seven  years  hence,  and  if 
I  do  not  cut  his  throat  upon  the  streets,  it's  a  pity  !  But  if  any 
man  will  be  true  brother  to  me,  true  brother  to  him  I'll  be,  come 
wreck  or  prize,  storm  or  calm,  salt  water  or  fresh,  victuals  or  none, 
share  and  fare  alike ;  and  here's  my  hand  upon  it  ;  for  every  man 
and  all  !  and  so — 


IVESTVVAI^D  HO  t 


"  Westward  ho !  with  a  rumbelow. 

And  hurra  for  the  Spanish  Main,  O !  ** 


u 


After  which  oration  Mr.  Oxenham  swaggered  into  the  tavern, 
followed  by  his  new  men  ;  and  the  boy  took  his  way  homewards, 
nursing  his  precious  horn,  trembling  between  hope  and  fear,  and 
i)lushing  with  maidenly  shame,  and  a  half-sense  of  wrong-doing 
at  having  revealed  suddenly  to  a  stranger  the  darling  wish  which 
he  had  hidden  from  his  father  and  mother  ever  since  he  was  ten 
years  old. 

Now  this  young  gentleman,  Amyas  Leigh,  though  come  of 
as  good  blood  as  any  in  Devon,  and  having  lived  all  his  life  in 
what  we  should  even  now  call  the  very  best  society,  and  being 
(on  account  of  the  valor,  courtesy,  and  truly  noble  qualities  Vv'hich 
ne  showed  forth  in  his  most  eventful  life)  chosen  by  me  as  the  hero 
and  centre  of  this  story,  was  not,  saving  for  his  good  looks,  by 
any  means  what  would  be  called  nowadays  an  "interesting" 
youth,  still  less  a  "  highly-educated  "  one  ;  for,  with  the  exception 
of  a  little  Latin,  which  had  been  driven  into  him  by  repeated  blows, 
as  if  it  had  been  a  nail,  he  knew  no  books  whatsoever,  save  his 
Bible,  his  Prayer-book,  the  old  "  Mort  d'Arthur"  of  Caxton's  edi- 
tion, which  lay  in  the  great  bay  window  in  the  hall,  and  the  trans- 
lation of  "  Las  Casas'  History  of  the  West  Indies,"  which  lay  be- 
side it,  lately  done  into  English  under  the  title  of  "  The  Cruelties  of 
the  Spaniards."  He  devoutly  believed  in  fairies,  whom  he  called 
pixies  ;  and  held  that  they  changed  babies,  and  made  the  mush- 
room rings  on  the  downs  to  dance  in.  When  he  had  warts  or 
burns,  he  went  to  the  white  witch  at  Northam  to  charm  them 
away  ;  he  thought  that  the  sun  moved  round  the  earth,  and  that 
the  moon  had  some  kindred  with  a  Cheshire  cheese.  He  held 
that  the  swallows  slept  all  the  winter  at  the  bottom  of  the  horse- 
pond  ;  talked,  like  Raleigh,  Grenvil,  and  other  low  persons,  with 
a  broad  Devonshire  accent  ;  and  was  in  many  other  respects 
so  very  ignorant  a  youth,  that  any  pert  monitor  in  a  national 
school  might  have  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  him.  Nevertheless, 
this  ignorant  young  savage,  "  vacant  of  the  glorious  gains  "  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  children's  literature  and  science  made 
easy,  and,  worst  of  all,  of  those  improved  views  of  English  his* 
tory  now  current  among  our  railway  essayists,  which  consist 
in  believing  all  persons,  male  and  female,  before  the  year  1688, 
and  nearly  all  after  it,  to  have  been  either  hypocrites  or  fools, 
had  learnt  certain  things  which  he  would  hardly  have  been 
taught  just  now  in  any  school  in  England  ;  for  his  training  had 
been  that^  of  the  old  Persians,  "  to  speak  the  truth  and  to  draw 
the  bow,"  both  of  which  savage  virtues  he  had  acquired  to 
perfection,  as  well  as  the  equally  savage  ones  of  enduring  pain 
_cheerfully,  and  of  believing  it  to  be  the  finest  thing  in  the  world  to 
be  a  gentleman  ;  by  which  word  he  had  been  taught  to  under- 
stand the  careful  habit  of  causing  needless  pain  to  no  human  being, 
poor  or  rich,  and  of  taking  pride  in  giving  up  his  own  pleasure 
ior  the  sake  of  those  who  were  weaker  than  himself.     Moreover, 


14  fVESTH^ARD  HO  ! 

having  been  entrusted  for  the  last  year  with  the  breaking  of  a 
colt,  and  the  care  of  a  cast  of  young  hawks  which  his  father  ha<!k 
received  from  Lundy  Isle,  he  had  been  profiting  much,  by  the 
means  of  those  coarse  and  frivolous  amusements,  in  perseverance, 
thoughtfulness,  and  the  habit  of  keeping  his  temper  ;  and  though 
he  had  never  had  a  single  "  object  lesson,"  or  been  taught  to  '■  use 
his  intellectual  powers,"  he  knew  the  names  and  ways  of  every 
bird,  and  tish,  and  fly,  and  could  read,  as  cunningly  as  the  oldest 
sailor  the  meaning  of  every  drift  of  cloud  which  crossed  the 
heavens.  Lastly,  he  had  been  for  some  time  past,  on  account  of 
his  extraordinary  size  and  strength,  undisputed  cock  of  the  school, 
and  the  most  terrible  fighter  among  all  Bideford  boys  ;  in  which 
brutal  habit  he  took  much  delight,  and  contrived,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  to  extract  from  it  good,  not  only  for  himself  but  for  others, 
doing  justice  among  his  school-fellows  with  a  heavy  hand,  and 
succoring  the  oppressed  and  afflicted  ;  so  that  he  was  the  terror 
of  all  the  sailor-lads,  and  the  pride  and  stay  of  all  the  town's  boys 
and  girls,  and  hardly  considered  that  he  had  done  his  duty  in  h'is 
calling  if  he  went  home  without  beating  a  big  lad  for  bullying  a 
little  one.  For  the  rest,  he  never  thought  about  thinking,  or  felt 
about  feeling  ;  and  had  no  ambition  whatsoever  beyond  pleasing 
his  father  and  mother,  getting  by  honest  means  the  maximum  of 
"  red  quarrenders  "  and  mazard  cherries,  and  going  to  sea  when 
he  was  big  enough.  Neither  was  he  what  would  be  nowadays 
called  by  many  a  pious  child  ;  for  though  he  said  his  Creed  and 
Lord's  Prayer  night  and  morning,  and  went  to  the  service  at  the 
church  every  forenoon,  and  read  the  day's  Psalms  with  his  mother 
every  evening,  and  had  learnt  from  her  and  from  his  father  (as 
he  proved  well  in  after  life)  that  it  was  infinitely  noble  to  do 
right  and  infinitely  base  to  do  wrong,  yet  (the  age  of  children's 
religious  books  not  having  yet  dawned  on  the  world)  he  knew 
nothing  more  of  theology,  or  of  his  own  soul,  than  is  con- 
tained in  the  Church  Catechism.  It  is  a  question,  however, 
on  the  whole,  whether,  though  grossly  ignorant  (according  to  our 
modern  notions)  in  science  and  religion,  he  was  altogether  un- 
trained in  manhood,  virtue,  and  godliness  ;  and  whether  the  bar- 
baric narrowness  of  his  Information  was  not  somewhat  counter- 
balanced both  in  him  and  in  the  rest  of  his  generation  by  the  depth, 
and  breadth,  and  healthiness  of  his  Education, 

So  let  us  watch  him  up  the  hill  as  he  goes  hugging  his  horn,  to 
tell  all  that  has  passed  to  his  mother,  from  whom  he  had  never 
hidden  anything  in  his  life,  save  only  that  sea-fever  ;  and  that  only 
because  he  foreknew  that  it  would  give  her  pain  ;  and  because, 
moreover,  being  a  prudent  and  sensible  lad,  he  knew  that  he  was 
not  yet  old  enough  to  go,  and  that,  as  he  expressed  it  to  her  that 
afternoon,  "  there  was  no  use  hollaing  till  he  was  out  of  the 
wood." 

So  he  goes  up  between  the  rich  lane-banks,  heavy  with  drooping 
ferns  and  honeysuckle  ;  out  upon  the  windy  down  toward  the  old 
Court,  nestled  amid  its  ring  of  wind-clipt  oaks  ;  through  the  gray 


WESTWARD  HO  t  1 5 

gateway  into  the  homeclose  ;  and  then  he  pauses  a  moment  to  look 
around  ;  first  at  the  wide  bay  to  the  westward,  with  its  southern 
wall  of  purple  cliffs  ;  then  at  the  dim  Isle  of  Lundy  far  away  at 
sea  ;  then  at  the  cliffs  and  downs  of  Morte  and  Braunton,  right  in 
front  of  him  ;  then  at  the  vast  yellow  sheet  of  rolling  sand-hill,  and 
green  alluvial  plain  dotted  with  red  cattle,  at  his  feet,  through 
which  the  silver  estuary  winds  onward  toward  the  sea.  Beneath 
him,  on  his  right,  the  Torridge,  like  a  land-locked  lake,  sleeps 
broad  and  bright  between  the  old  park  of  Tapeley  and  the  charmed 
rock  of  the  Hubbastone,  where,  seven  hundred  years  ago,  the 
Norse  rovers  landed  to  lay  siege  to  Kenwith  Castle,  a  mile  away 
on  his  left  hand  ;  and  not  three  fields  away,  are  the  old  stones  ot 
*'  The  Bloody  Corner,"  where  the  retreating  Danes,  cut  off  from 
their  ships,  made  their  last  fruitless  stand  against  the  Saxon  sherifi 
and  the  valiant  men  of  Devon.  Within  that  charmed  rock,  so 
Torridge  boatmen  tell,  sleeps  now  the  old  Norse  Viking  in  his 
leaden  coffin,  with  all  his  fairy  treasure  and  his  crown  of  gold  ;  and 
as  the  boy  looks  at  the  spot,  he  fancies,  and  almost  hopes,  that  the 
day  may  come  when  he  shall  have  to  do  his  duty  against  the  in- 
vader as  boldly  as  the  men  of  Devon  did  then.  And  past  him,  far 
below,  upon  the  soft  south-eastern  breeze,  the  stately  ships  go 
sliding  out  to  sea.  When  shall  he  sail  in  them,  and  see  the 
wonders  of  the  deep  ?  And  as  he  stands  there  with  beating  heart 
and  kindling  eye,  the  cool  breeze  whistling  through  his  long  fair 
curls,  he  is  a  symbol,  though  he  knows  it  not,  of  brave  young 
England  longing  to  wing  its  way  out  of  its  island  prison,  to  dis- 
cover and  to  traffic,  to  colonize  and  to  civilize,  until  no  wind  can 
sweep  the  earth  which  does  not  bear  the  echoes  of  an  English 
voice.  Patience,  young  Amyas  !  Thou  too  shalt  forth,  and  west- 
ward ho,  beyond  thy  wildest  dreams  ;  and  see  brave  sights,  and 
do  brave  deeds,  which  no  man  has  since  the  foundation  of  the 
world.  Thou  too  shalt  face  invaders  stronger  and  more  cruel  far 
than  Dane  or  Norman,  and  bear  thy  part  in  that  great  Titan  strife 
before  the  renown  of  which  the  name  of  Salamis  shall  fade  away  ! 

Mr.  Oxenham  came  that  evening  to  supper  as  he  had  promised  : 
but  as  people  supped  in  those  days  in  much  the  same  manner  as 
they  do  now,  we  may  drop  the  thread  of  the  story  for  a  few  hours, 
and  take  it  up  again  after  supper  is  over, 

"  Come,  now,  Dick  Grenvil,  do  thou  talk  the  good  man  round, 
and  I'll  warrant  myself  to  talk  round  the  good  wife." 

The  personage  whom  Oxenham  addressed  thus  familiarly  an- 
swered  by  a  somewhat  sarcastic  smile,  and,  "  Mr.  Oxenham  gives 
Dick  Grenvil  "  (with  just  enough  emphasis  on  the  "  Mr."  and  the 
"  Dick,"  to  hint  that  a  liberty  had  been  taken  with  him)  "over- 
much credit  with  the  men.  Mr.  Oxenham's  credit  with  fair  ladies, 
none  can  doubt.  Friend  Leigh,  is  Heard's  great  ship  home  yet 
from  the  Straits  ?  " 

The  speaker,  known  well  in  those  days  as  Sir  Richard  Grenvile, 
Granville,  Greenvil,  Greenfield,  with  two  or  three  other  variations, 
was  one  of  those  truly  heroical  personages  whom  Providence,  fitticg 


J  6  WESTWARD  HO  f 

always  the  men  to  their  age  and  their  work,  had  sent  upon  the 
earth  whereof  it  takes  right  good  care,  not  in  England  only, 
but  in  Spain  and  Italy,  in  Germany  and  the  Netherlands,  and 
wherever,  in  short,  great  men  and  great  deeds  were  needed  to  lift 
the  mediaeval  world  into  the  modern. 

And,  among  all  the  heroic  faces  which  the  painters  of  that  age 
have  preserved,  none,  perhaps,  hardly  exxepting  Shakspeare's  or 
Spencer's,  Alva's  or  Parma's,  is  more  heroic  than  that  of  Richard 
Grenvil,  as  it  stands  in  Prince's  "  Worthies  of  Devon  "  ;  of  a  Span- 
ish type,  perhaps  (or  more  truly  speaking,  a  Cornish),  rather  than 
an  English,  with  just  enough  of  the  British  element  in  it  to  give 
delicacy  to  its  massiveness.  The  forehead  and  whole  brain  are  ot 
extraordinary  loftiness,  and  perfectly  upright  ;  the  nose  long,  aqui- 
line, and  delicately  pointed  ;  the  mouth  fringed  with  a  short  silky- 
beard,  small  and  ripe,  yet  firm  as  granite,  with  just  pout  enough 
of  the  lower  lip  to  give  hint  of  that  capacity  of  noble  indignation 
which  lay  hid  under  its  usual  courtly  calm  and  sweetness  ;  if  there 
be  a  defect  in  the  face,  \\  is  that  the'eyes  are  somewhat  small,  and 
close  together,  and  the  eyebrows,  though  delicately  arched,  and, 
without  a  trace  of  peevishness,  too  closely  pressed  down  upon 
them,  the  complexion  is  dark,  the  figure  tall  and  graceful  ;  al- 
together the  likeness  of  a  wise  and  gallant  gentleman,  lovely  to  all 
good  men,  awful  to  all  bad  men  ;  in  whose  presence  none  dare 
say  or  do  a  mean  or  a  ribald  thing  ;  v/hom  brave  men  left,  feeling 
themselves  nerved  to  do  their  duty  better,  while  cowards  slipped 
away,  as  bats  and  owls  before  the  sun.  So  he  lived  and  moved, 
whether  in  the  Court  of  Elizabeth,  giving  his  counsel  among  the 
wisest  ;  or  in  the  streets  of  Bideford,  capped  alike  by  squire  and 
merchant,  shopkeeper  and  sailor  ;  or  riding  along  the  moorland 
roads  between  his  houses  of  Stow  and  Bideford,  while  every  woman 
ran  out  to  her  door  to  look  at  the  great  Sir  Richard,  the  pride  ot 
North  Devon  ;  or,  sitting  there  in  the  low  mullioned  window  at 
Burrough,  with  his  cup  of  malmsey  before  him,  and  the  lute  to 
which  he  had  just  been  singing  laid  across  his  knees,  while  the  red 
western  sun  streamed  in  upon  his  high,  bland  forehead  and  soft 
curling  locks  ;  ever  the  same  steadfast.  God-fearing,  chivalrous 
man,  conscious  (as  far  as  a  soul  so  healthy  could  be  conscious)  of 
the  pride  of  beauty,  and  strength,  and  valor,  and  wisdom,  and  a 
race  and  name  which  claimed  direct  descent  from  the  grandfather 
of  the  Conqueror,  and  was  tracked  down  the  centuries  by  valiant 
deeds  and  noble  benefits  to  his  native  shire,  himself  the  noblest  of 
his  race.  Men  said  that  he  was  proud  :  but  he  could  not  look 
round  him  without  having  something  to  be  proud  of  ;  that  he  was 
stern  and  harsh  to  his  sailors  :  but  it  was  only  when  he  saw  in 
|them  any  taint  of  cowardice  or  falsehood  ;  that  he  was  subject,  at 
moments,  to  such  fearful  fits  of  rage,  that  he  had  been  seen  to 
snatch  the  glasses  from  the  table,  grind  them  to  pieces  in  his  teeth, 
and  swallow  them  :  but  that  was  only  when  his  indignation  had 
been  aroused  by  some  tale  of  cruelty  or  oppression;  and  ?Dove 
all,  by  those  West  Indian  devilries  of  the  Spaniards,  whoni  he  r^ 


WESTWARD  HO  I 


11 


garded  (and  in  those  days  rightly  enough)  as  the  enemies  of  GccJ 
and  man.  Of  this  last  fact  Oxenham  was  well  aware,  and  there- 
fore felt  somewhat  puzzled  and  nettled,  when,  after  having  askei 
Mr.  Leigh's  leave  to  take  young  Amyas  with  him,  and  set  forth  in 
glowing  colors  the  purpose  of  his  voyage,  he  found  Sir  Richard 
utterly  unwilling  to  help  him  with  his  suit. 

"  Heyday,  Sir  Richard  1  You  are  not  surely  gone  over  to  the 
side  of  those  canting  fellows  (Spanish  Jesuits  in  disguise,  every 
one  of  them,  they  are),  who  pretend  to  turn  up  their  noses  at  Franky 
Drake  as  a  pirate,  and  be  hanged  to  them  ?  " 

"  My  friend  Oxenham,"  answered  he,  in  the  sententious  and 
measured  style  of  the  day,  "  I  have  always  held,  as  you  should 
know  by  this,  that  Mr.  Drake's  booty,  as  well  as  my  good  friend 
Captain  Hawkins',  is  lawful  prize,  as  being  taken  from  the  Span- 
iard, who  is  not  only  '  hostis  humani  generis,'  but  has  no  right  to 
the  same,  having  robbed  it  violently,  by  torture  and  extreme  in- 
iquity from  the  poor  Indian,  whom  God  avenge,  as  He  surely 
will." 

"Amen,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  I  say  Amen  too,"  quoth  Oxenham,  "  especially  if  it  please  Him 
to  avenge  them  by  English  hands." 

*' And  I  also,"  went  on  Sir  Richard  ;  "  for  the  rightful  owners 
of  the  said  goods  being  either  miserably  dead,  or  incapable  by 
reason  of  their  servitude,  of  ever  recovering  any  share  thereof,  the 
treasure,  falsely  called  Spanish,  cannot  be  better  bestowed  than  in 
building  up  the  state  of  England  against  them,  our  natural  enemies  ; 
and  thereby,  in  building  up  the  weal  of  the  Reformed  Churchej 
throughout  the  world,  and  the  liberties  of  all  nations,  against  a 
tyranny  more  foul  and  rapacious  than  that  of  Nero  or  Caligula  ; 
which,  if  it  be  not  the  cause  of  God,  I,  for  one,  know  not  what 
God's  cause  Js  !  "  And,  as  he  warmed  in  his  speech,  his  eyes 
Leashed  very  fire. 

"Hark  now!"  said  Oxenham,  "who  can  speak  more  boldly 
than  he  ?  and  yet  he  will  not  help  this  lad  to  so  noble  an  adven- 
ture." 

"  You  have  asked  his  father  and  mother ;  what  is  their 
answer  ?  " 

"  Mine  is  this,"  said  Mr.  Leigh  ;  "  if  it  be  God's  will  that  my 
boy  should  become,  hereafter,  such  a  mariner  as  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
vil,  let  him  go,  and  God  be  with  him  ;  but  let  him  first  bide  here 
-It  home  and  be  trained,  if  God  give  me  grace,  to  become  such  a 
gentleman  as  Sir  Richard  Grenvil." 

Sir  Richard  bowed  low,  and  Mrs.  Leigh  catching  up  the  lasf 
word — 

"  There,  Mr.  Oxenham,  you  cannot  gainsay  that,  unless  you 
will  be  discourteous  to  his  worship.  And  for  me — though  it  be  a 
weak  woman's  reason,  yet  it  is  a  mother's  :  he  is  my  only  child. 
His  elder  brother  is  far  away.  God  only  knows  whether  I  shall 
see  him  again  ;  and  what  are  all  reports  of  his  virtues  and  his 
learning  to  me,  compared  to  that  sweet  presence  which  I  'la*!^ 


,8  WESTWARD  HO  f 

miss  ?  Ah  !  Mr.  Oxenham,  my  beautiful  Joseph  is  gone  ;  and 
though  he  be  lord  of  Pharaoh's  household,  yet  he  is  far  away  in 
Egypt  ;  and  you  will  take  Benjamin  also  !  Ah  !  Mr.  Oxenham, 
you  have  no  child,  or  you  would  not  ask  for  mine!" 

"  And  how  do  you  know  that,  my  sweet  Madam  ?  "  said  the  ad- 
venturer, turning  first  deadly  pale,  and  then  giowing  red.  He? 
last  words  had  touched  him  to  the  quick  in  some  unexpected  place  : 
and  rising,  he  courteously  laid  her  hand  to  his  lips,  and  said — "  I 
say  no  more.  Farewell,  sweet  Madam,  and  God  send  all  men  such 
wives  as  you." 

"And  all  wives,"  said  she,  smiling,  "such  husbands  as  mine." 

"  Nay,  I  will  not  say  that,"  answered  he  with  a  half  sneer — and 
then.  "  Farewell,  friend  Leigh — farewell,  gallant  Dick  Grenvil. 
God  send  I  see  thee  Lord  High  Admiral  when  I  come  home.  And 
yet,  why  should  I  come  home  ?  Will  you  pray  for  poor  Jack, 
gentles  ?  " 

"Tut,  tut,  man  !  good  words,"  said  Leigh  ;  "let  us  drink  to  our 
merry  meeting  before  you  go."  And  rising,  and  putting  the 
tankard  of  malmsey  to  his  lips,  he  passed  it  to  Sir  Richard,  who 
rose,  and  saying,  "'To  the  fortune  of  a  bold  mariner  and  a  gallant 
gentleman,"  drank,  and  put  the  cup  into  Oxenham 's  hand. 

The  adventurer's  face  was  flushed,  and  his  eye  wild.  Whether 
from  the  liquor  he  had  drunk  during  the  day,  or  whether  from 
Mrs.  Leigh's  last  speech,  he  had  not  been  himself  for  a  few  minutes. 
He  lifted  the  cup,  and  was  in  the  act  to  pledge  them,  when  he  sud- 
denly dropped  it  on  the  table,  and  pointed,  staring  and  trembling, 
up  and  down,  and  round  the  room,  as  if  following  some  fluttering 
object. 

"  There  !  Do  you  see  it  ?  The  bird  ! — the  bird  with  the  white 
breast ! " 

Each  looked  at  the  other;  but  Leigh,  who  was  a  quick-witted 
man,  and  an  old  courtier,  forced  a  laugh  instantly,  and  cried — 

"  Nonsense,  brave  Jack  Oxenham  !  Leave  w^hite  birds  for  men 
who  will  show  the  white  feather.  Mrs.  Leigh  waits  to  pledge 
you." 

Oxenham  recovered  himself  in  a  moment,  pledged  them  all 
round,  drinking  deep  and  fiercely  ;  and  after  hearty  farewells, 
departed,  never  hinting  again  at  his  strange  exclamation. 

After  he  was  gone,  and  while  Leigh  was  attending  him  to  the 
door,  Mrs.  Leign  and  Grenvil  kept  a  few  minutes'  dead  silence. 
At  last— 

••  God  help  him  !  "  said  she. 

"Amen  !"  said  Grenvil,  "for  he  never  needed  it  more.  But, 
Indeed,  Madam,  I  put  no  faith  in  such  omens." 

"  But  Sir  Richard,  that  bird  has  been  seen  for  generations 
before  the  death  of  any  of  his  lamily.  I  know  those  who  were  at 
South  Tawton  when  his  mother  died,  and  his  brother  also  ;  and 
they  both  saw  it.  God  help  him  !  for,  after  all,  he  is  a  proper 
man." 

"  So  many  a  lady  has  thought  before  now,  Mrs.  Leigh,  and  well 


IVESTIVARD  HO  t  ip 

for  him  if  they  had  not.  But,  indeed,  I  make  no  account  of  omens. 
When  God  is  ready  for  each  man,  then  he  must  go  ;  and  when 
can  he  go  better  ?  " 

"  But,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  who  entered,  "I  have  seen,  and  espe- 
cially when  I  was  in  Italy,  omens  and  prophecies  before  now  beget 
their  own  fulfilment,  by  driving  men  into  recklessness,  and  making 
them  run  headlong  upon  that  very  ruin  which,  as  they  fancied; 
was  running  upon  them." 

"  And  which,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  they  might  have  avoided,  if. 
instead  of  trusting  in  I  know  not  what  dumb  and  dark  destiny, 
they  had  trusted  in  the  living  God,  by  faith  in  whom  men  may 
remove  mountains,  and  quench  the  fire,  and  put  to  flight  the 
armies  of  the  alien.  I  too  know,  and  know  not  how  I  know,  that 
I  shall  never  die  in  my  bed." 

"  God  forfend  !  "  cried  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  And  why,  fair  Madam,  if  I  die  doing  my  duty  to  my  God  and 
my  queen  ?  The  thought  never  moves  me  :  nay,  to  tell  the  truth, 
I  pray  often  enough  that  I  may  be  spared  the  miseries  of  imbecile 
old  age,  and  that  end  which  the  old  Northmen  rightly  called  '  a 
cow's  death  '  rather  than  a  man's.  But  enough  of  this.  Mr. 
Leigh,  you  have  done  wisely  to-night.  Poor  Oxenham  does  not 
go  on  his  voyage  with  a  single  eye.  I  have  talked  about  him 
with  Drake  and  Hawkins  ;  and  I  guess  why  Mrs.  Leigh  touched 
him  so  home  when  she  told  him  that  he  had'no  child." 

"  Has  he  one,  then,  in  the  West  Indies  ?  "  cried  the  good  lady. 

*'  God  knows  ;  and  God  grant  we  may  not  hear  of  shame  and 
sorrov/  fallen  upon  an  ancient  and  honorable  house  of  Devon. 
My  brother  Stukely  is  woe  enough  to  North  Devon  for  this  gen- 
eration." 

"  Poor  braggadocio  I  "  said  Mr.  Leigh  ;  "  and  yet  not  altogether 
that  too,  for  he  can  fight  at  least." 

"So  can  every  mastiff  and  boar,  much  more  an  Englishman. 
And  now  come  hither  to  me,  my  adventurous  godson,  and  don't 
look  in  such  doleful  dumps.  I  hear  you  have  broken  all  the  sailor- 
boys'  heads  already." 

"  Nearly  all,"  said  young  Amyas,  with  due  modesty.  "  But  am 
I  not  to  go  to  sea  ?  " 

"  All  things  in  their  tim.e,  my  boy,  and  God  forbid  that  either  I 
or  your  worthy  parents  should  keep  you  from  that  noble  calling 
which  is  the  safeguard  of  this  England  and  her  queen.  But  you 
do  not  wish  to  live  and  die  the  master  of  a  trawler  }  " 

"  I  should  like  to  be  a  brave  adventurer,  like  Mr.  Oxenham.** 

"  God  grant  you  become  a  braver  man  than  he  !  for  as  I  think, 
to  be  bold  against  the  enemy  is  common  to  the  brutes  ;  but  the 
prerogative  of  a  man  is  to  be  bold  against  himself." 

"  How,  sir  ?  " 

"  To  conquer  our  own  fancies,  Amyas,  and  our  own  lusts,  and 
our  ambition,  in  the  sacred  name  of  duty  ;  this  it  is  to  be  truly 
brave,  and  truly  strong  ;  for  he  who  cannot  rule  himself,  how  can 
he  rule  his  crew  or  his  fortunes  ?    Come,  now,  I  will  make  you  a 


20  WESTWARD  HO  t 

promise.  If  you  will  bide  quietly  at  home,  and  learn^  from  yom 
father  and  mother  all  which  befits  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian,  as 
well  as  a  seaman,  the  day  shall  come  when  you  shall  sail  with 
Richard  Grenvil  himself,  or  with  better  men  than  he,  on  a  nobler 
errand  than  gold-hunting  on  the  Spanish  iMain. 

-'•  O  my  boy,  my  boy  !  "  said  Mrs.  Leigh,  "  hear  what  the  good 
Sir  Richard  promises  you.  Many  an  earl's  son  would  be  glad  to 
be  in  your  place." 

"■  And  many  an  earl's  son  will  be  glad  to  be  in  his  place  a  score 
years  hence,  if  he  will  but  learn  what  I  know  you  two  can  teach 
him.  And  now,  Amyas,  my  lad,  I  will  tell  you  for  a  warning  the 
history  of  that  Sir  Thomas  Stukely  of  whom  I  spoke  just  now,  and 
who  was,  as  all  men  know,  a  gallant  and  courtly  knight,  of  an 
ancient  and  worshipful  family  in  Ilfracombe,  well  practised  in  the 
wars,  and  well  beloved  at  first  by  our  incomparable  queen,  the  friend 
of  all  true  virtue,  as  I  trust  she  will  be  of  yours  some  day  ;  who 
wanted  but  one  step  to  greatness,  and  that  was  this,  that  in  his 
hurry  to  rule  all  the  world,  he  forgot  to  rule  himself.  At  first,  he 
wasted  his  estate  in  show  and  luxury,  always  intending  to  be 
famous,  and  destroying  his  own  fame  all  the  while  by  his  vain- 
glory and  haste.  Then,  to  retrieve  his  losses,  he  hit  upon  the 
peopling  of  Florida,  which  thou  and  I  will  see  done  some  day,  by 
God's  bfessing  ;  for  I  and  some  good  friends  of  mine  have  an  errand 
there  as  well  as  he.  But  he  did  not  go  about  it  as  a  loyal  man, 
to  advance  the  honor  of  his  queen,  but  his  own  honor  only,  dream- 
ing that  he  too  should  be  a  king  ;  and  was  not  ashamed  to  tell  her 
majesty  that  he  had  rather  be  sovereign  of  a  molehill  than  the 
highest  subject  of  an  emperor." 

"  They  say,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "  that  he  told  her  plainly  he  should 
be  a  prince  before  he  died,  and  that  she  gave  him  one  of  her  pretty 
quips  in  return," 

"  I  don't  know  that  her  majesty  had  the  best  of  it.  A  fool  is 
many  times  too  strong  for  a  wise  man,  by  virtue  of  his  thick  hide. 
For  when  she  said  that  she  hoped  she  should  hear  from  him  in  his 
new  principality,  '  Yes,  sooth,'  saj-s  he,  graciously  enough.  'And 
in  what  style  ? '  asks  she.  '  To  our  dear  sister,'  says  Stukely  :  to 
which  her'clemency  had  nothing  to  reply,  but  turned  away,  as  Mr. 
Burleigh  told  me,  laughing." 

.-"  Alas  for  him  !  "  said  gentle  Mrs.  Leigh.  "  Such  self-conceit— 
and  Tleaven  knows  we  have  the  root  of  it  in  ourselves  also — is  the 
-ery  daughter  of  self-will,  and  of  that  loud  crying  out  about  I,  and 
viie,  and  mine,  which  is  the  very  bird-call  for  all  devils,  and  the 
broad  road  which  leads  to  death." 

"  It  will  lead  him  to  his,"  said  Sir  Richard  ;  "  God  grant  it  be  not 
upon  Tower-hill  !  for  since  that  Florida  plot,  and  after  that  his 
hopes  of  Irish  preferment  came  to  nought,  he  who  could  not 
help  himself  by  fair  means  has  taken  to  foul  ones,  and  gone  over 
to  Italy  to  the  Pope,  whose  infallibility  has  not  been  proof  against 
Stukely's  wit ;  for  he  was  soon  his  Holiness's  closet  counsellor, 
and,  they  say,  his  bosom  friend  ;  and  made  him  give  credit  to  his 


ESTWARDHO!  21 

boasts  that,  with  three  thousand  soldiers  he  would  beat  the  Eng- 
lish out  of  Ireland,  and  make  the  Pope's  son  king  of  it." 

"Ay,  but,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "I  suppose  the  Italians  have  the 
same  letch  now  as  they  had  when  I  was  there,  to  explam  such  ugly 
cases  ;  namely,  that  the  Pope  is  infallible  only  in  doctrine,  and 
quoad  Pope  ;  while  quoad  hominem,  he  is  even  as  others,  or  in- 
deed, in  general,  a  deal  worse,  so  that  the  office,  and  not  the  man, 
may  be  glorified  thereby.     But  where  is  Stukely  now  .?  " 

"  At  Rome  when  last  I  heard  of  him,  ruffling  it  up  and  down  the 
Vatican  as  Baron  Ross,  Viscount  Murrough,  Earl  Wexford,  Mar- 
quis Leinster,  and  a  title  or  two  more,  which  have  co.st  the  Pope 
little,  seeing  that  they  never  were  his  to  give  ;  and  pijtting,  they 
say,  some  hair-brained  expedition  against  Ireland  by  the  help  of 
the  Spanish  king,  which  must  end  in  nothing  but  his  shame  and 
ruin.  And  now,  my  sweet  hosts,  I  must  call  for  serving-boy  and 
lantern,  and  home  to  my  bed  in  Bideford." 

And  so  Amyas  Leigh  went  back  to  school,  and  Mr.  Oxenham 
went  his  way  to  Plymouth  again,  and  sailed  for  the  Spanish 
Main. 


CHAPTER  IL 

HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME  THE  FIRST  TIME. 

**Si  taceant  homines,  facientte  sidera  notumi 
Soi  nescit  ccmUis  immeraor  esse  sui." 

Old  Epigram  on  Drake. 

Five  years  have  past  and  gone.  It  is  nine  of  the  clock  on  a 
still,  bright  November  morning  ;  but  the  bells  of  Bideford  church 
are  still  ringing  for  the  daily  service  two  hours  after  the  usual  time  ; 
and  instead  of  going  soberly  according  to  wont,  cannot  help  break- 
ing forth  every  five  minutes  into  a  jocund  peal,  and  tumbling  head 
over  heels  in  ecstasies  of  joy.  Bideford  streets  are  a  very  Hower- 
garden  of  all  the  colors,  swarming  with  seamen  and  burghers, 
and  burghers'  wives  and  daughters,  all  in  their  holiday  attire. 
Garlands  are  hung  across  the  streets,  and  tapestries  from  every 
window.  The  ships  in  the  pool  are  dressed  in  all  their  flags,  and 
give  tumultuous  vent  to  their  feelings  by  peals  of  ordinance  of 
every  size.  Every  stable  is  crammed  with  horses  ;  and  Sir  Rich- 
ard Grenvil's  house  is  like  a  very  tavern,  with  eating  and  drinking, 
and  unsaddling,  and  running  to  and  fro  of  grooms  and  serving- 
men.  Along  the  little  churchyard,  packed  full  with  women, 
streams  all  the  gentle  blood  of  North  Devon, — tall  and  stately 
men,  and  fair  ladies,  worthy  of  the  days  when  the  gentry  of  Eng- 
land were  by  due  right  the  leaders  of  the  people,  by  personal 
Erowess  and  beauty,  as  well  as  by  intellect  and  education.  And 
rst,  there  is  my  lady  Countess  of  Batli,  whom  Sir  Richard  Gren- 


23  WESTWARD  HOI 

vil  is  escorting,  cap  in  hand  (for  her  good  Earl  Bourchier  is  itl 
London  with  the  queen)  ;  and  there;  are  Bassets  from  beautiful  Urn- 
berleigh,  and  Carys  from  more  beautiful  Clovelly,  and  Fortescues 
of  Wear,  and  Fortescues  of  Buckland,  and  Fortescues  from  all 
quarters,  and  Coles  from  Slade,  and  Stukelys  from  Affton,  and 
St.  Legers  from  Annery,  and  Coffins  from  Portledge,  and  even 
Coplestones  from  Eggesford,  thirty  miles  away  :  and  last,  but 
not  least  (for  almost  all  stop  to  give  them  place,)  Sir  John 
Chichester  of  Ralegh,  followed  in  single  file,  after  the  good  old 
patriarchal  fashion,  by  his  eight  daughters,  and  three  of  his 
five  famous  sons  (one,  to  avenge  his  murdered  brother,  is  fighting 
valiantly  in  Ireland,  hereafter  to  rule  there  wisely  also,  as  Lord 
Deputy  and  Baron  of  Belfast)  ;  and  he  meets  at  the  gate  his 
cousin  of  Arlington,  and  behind  him  a  train  of  four  daughters  and 
nineteen  sons,  the  last  of  whom  has  not  yet  passed  the  Town-hall, 
while  the  first  is  at  the  Lychgate,  who,  laughing,  make  way  for  the 
elder  though  shorter  branch  of  that  most  fruitful  tree  ;  and  so  on 
into  the  church,-  where  all  are  placed  according  to  their  degrees, 
or  at  least  as  near  as  may  be,  not  without  a  few  sour  looks  and 
shovings,  and  whisperings,  from  one  high-born  matron  and 
another  ;  till  the  churchwardens  and  sidesmen,  who  never  had  be- 
fore so  goodly  a  company  to  arrange,  have  bustled  themselves  hot, 
and  red,  and  frantic,  and  end  by  imploring  abjectly  the  help  of  the 
great  Sir  Richard  himself  to  tell  them  who  everybody  is,  and  which 
is  the  elder  branch,  and  which  is  the  younger,  and  who  carries 
eight  quarterings  in  their  arms,  and  who  only  four,  and  so  prevent 
their  setting  at  deadly  feud  half  the  fine  ladies  of  North  Devon  ; 
for  the  old  men  are  all  safe  packed  away  in  the  corporation  pews, 
and  the  young  ones  care  only  to  get  a  place  whence  they  may  eye 
the  ladies.  And  at  last  there  is  a  silence,  and  a  looking  toward 
the  door,  and  then  distant  music,  flutes  and  hautboys,  drums  and 
trumpets,  which  come  braying,  and  screaming,  and  thundering 
merrily  up  to  the  very  church  doors,  and  then  cease  ;  and  the 
churchwardens  and  sidesmen  bustle  down  to  the  entrance,  rods  in 
hand,  and  there  is  a  general  whisper  and  rustle,  not  without  glad 
tears  and  blessings  from  many  a  woman,  and  from  some  men  also, 
as  the  wonder  of  the  day  enters,  and  the  rector  begins,^  not  the 
morning  service,  but  the  good  old  thanksgiving  after  a  victory  at 
sea. 

And  what  is  it  which  has  thus  sent  old  Bideford  wild  with  that 
•*  goodly  joy  and  pious  mirth,"  of  which  we  now  only  retain  tra- 
dition in  our  translation  of  the  Psalms  ?  Why  are  all  eyes  fixed, 
with  greedy  admiration,  on  those  four  weatherbeaten  mariners, 
decked  out  with  knots  and  ribbons  by  loving  hands  ;  and  yet  more 
on  that  gigantic  figure  who  walks  before  them,  a  beardless  boy, 
and  yet  with  the  frame  and  stature  of  a  Hercules,  towering,  like 
Saul  of  old,  a  head  and  shoulders  above  all  the  congregation,  with 
his  golden  locks  flowing  down  over  his  shoulders  ?  And  why,  as 
the  five  go  instinctively  up  to  the  altar,  and  there  fall  on  their  knees 
before  the  rails,  are  all  eyes  turned  to  the  pew  where  Mrs.  Leigh 


WESTIVAUD  Hot  23 

of  Burrough  has  hid  her  face  between  her  hands,  and  her  hood 
rustles  and  shakes  to  her  joyful  sobs  ?  Because  there  was  fellow- 
feeling  of  old  in  merry  England,  in  county  and  in  town  ;  and  these 
are  Devon  men,  and  men  of  Bideford,  whose  names  are  Amyas 
Leigh  of  Burrough,  John  Stavely,  Michael  Heard,  and  Jonas  Mar- 
shall of  Bideford,  and  Thomas  Braund  of  Clovelly  ;  and  they,  the 
first  of  all  English  mariners,  have  sailed  round  the  world  with 
Francis  Drake,  and  are  come  hither  to  give  God  thanks. 

It  is  a  long  story.  To  explain  how  it  happened  we  must  go  back 
for  a  page  or  two,  almost  to  the  point  from  whence  we  started  in 
the  last  chapter. 

For  somewhat  more  than  a  twelvemonth  after  Mr.  Oxenham's 
departure,  young  Amyas  had  gone  on  quietly  enough,  according 
to  promise,  with  the  exception  of  certain  occasional  outbursts  of 
fierceness  common  to  all  young  male  animals,  and  especially  to 
boys  of  any  strength  of  character.  His  scholarship,  indeed,  pro- 
gressed no  better  than  before  ;  but  his  home  education  went  on 
healthily  enough  ;  and  he  was  fast  becoming,  young  as  he  was,  a 
right  good  archer,  and  rider,  and  swordsman  (after  the  old  school 
'  of  buckler  practice),  when  his  father  having  gone  down  on  busi- 
ness to  the  Exeter  Assizes,  caught  (as  was  too  common  in  those 
days)  the  jail-fever  from  the  prisoners  ;  sickened  in  the  very  court ; 
and  died  within  a  week. 

And  now  Mrs.  Leigh  was  left  to  God  and  her  own  soul,  with 
this  young  lion-cub  in  leash,  to  tame  and  train  for  this  life  and  the 
life  to  come.  She  had  loved  her  husband  fervently  and  holily.  He 
had  been  often  peevish,  often  melancholy  ;  for  he  was  a  disap- 
pointed man,  with  an  estate  impoverished  by  his  father's  folly,  and 
his  own  youthful  ambition,  which  had  led  him  up  to  the  Court,  and 
made  him  waste  his  heart  and  his  purse  in  following  a  vain  shadow. 
He  was  one  of  those  men,  moreover,  who  possess  almost  every 
gift  except  the  gift  of  the  power  to  use  them  ;  and  though  a  scholar, 
a  courtier,  and  a  soldier,  he  had  found  himself,  when  he  was  past 
forty,  without  settled  employment  or  aim  in  life,  by  reason  of  a 
certain  shyness,  pride,  or  delicate  honor  (call  it  which  you  will), 
which  had  always  kept  him  from  playing  a  winning  game  in  that 
very  world  after  whose  prizes  he  hankered  to  the  last,  and  on 
which  he  revenged  himself  by  continual  grumbling.  At  last,  by 
his  good  luck,  he  met  with  a  fair  young  Miss  Foljambe  of  Derby- 
shire, then  about  Queen  Elizabeth's  Court,  who  was  as  tired  as  he 
of  the  sins  of  the  world,  though  she  had  seen  less  of  theftn  ;  and 
the  two  contrived  to  please  each  other  so  well,  that  though  the 
queen  grumbled  a  little,  as  usual,  at  the  lady  for  marrying,  and  at 
the  gentleman  for  adoring  any  one  but  her  royal  self,  they  got 
leave  to  vanish  from  the  little  Babylon  at  Whitehall,  and  settle  in 
peace  at  Burrough.  In  her  he  found  a  treasure,  and  he  knew 
what  he  had  found. 
I  Mrs.  Leigh  was,  and  had  been  from  her  youth,  one  of  those  noble 
old  English  cliurchwomen,  without  superstition,  and  without  sever- 
alty, who  are  among  the  fairest  features  of  that  heroic  time.     There 


2^  WESTWARD  HO) 

was  a  certain  melancholy  about  her,  nevertheless  ;  for  the  rccol' 

lections  of  her  childhood  carried  her  back  to  times  when  it  was 
an  awful  thing  to  be  a  Protestant.  She  could  remeniber  among 
them,  five-and-twenty  years  ago,  the  burning  of  poor  blind  Joan 
Waste  at  Derby,  and  of  Mistress  Joyce  Lewis,  too,  like  herself,  a 
lady  born  ;  and  sometimes  even  now,  in  her  nightly  dreams,  rang 
in  her  ears  her  mother's  bitter  cries  to  God,  either  to  spare  hei 
that  fiery  torment,  or  to  give  her  strength  to  bear  it,  as  she  whom 
she  loved  had  borne  it  before  her.  For  her  mother,  who  was  of  a 
good  family  in  Yorkshire,  had  been  one  of  Queen  Catherine's  bed- 
chamber women,  and  the  bosom  friend  and  disciple  of  Anne 
Askew.  And  she  had  sat  in  Smithfield,  with  blood  curdled  by 
horror,  to  see  the  hapless  Court  beauty,  a  month  before  the  para- 
gon of  Henry's  Court,  carried  in  a  chair  (so  crippled  was  she  by 
the  rack)  to  her  fiery  doom  at  the  stake,  beside  her  fellow-courtier, 
Mr.  Lascelles,  while  the  very  heavens  seenr.ed  to  the  shuddering 
mob  around  to  speak  their  wrath  and  grief  in  solemn  thunder 
peals,  and  heavy  drops  which  hissed  upon  the  crackling  pile. 

Therefore  a  sadness  hung  upon  her  all  her  life,  and  deepened 
in  the  days  of  Queen  Mary,  when,  as  a  notorious  Protestant  and 
heretic  she  had  had  to  hide  for  her  life  among  the  hills  and  caverns 
of  the  Peak,  and  was  only  saved  by  the  love  which  her  husband's 
tenants  bore  her,  and  by  his  bold  declaration  that,  good  Catholic 
as  he  was,  he  would  run  through  the  body  any  constable,  justice, 
or  priest,  yea,  bishop  or  cardinal,  who  dared  to  serve  the  Queen's 
warrant  upon  his  wife. 

So  she  escaped  :  but,  as  I  said,  a  sadness  hung  upon  her  all 
her  life  ;  and  the  skirt  of  that  dark  mantle  fell  upon  the  young 
girl  who  had  been  the  partner  of  her  wanderings  and  hidings  among 
the  lonely  hills  ;  and  who,  after  she  was  married,  gave  herselt 
utterly  up  to  God. 

And  yet  in  giving  herself  to  God,  Mrs.  Leigh  gave  herself  to 
har  husband,  her  children,  and  the  poor  of  Northam  town,  ar.d 
was  none  the  less  welcome  to  the  Grenviles,  and  Fortescues,  and 
Chichesters,  and  all  the  gentle  families  round,  who  honored  her 
husband's  talents,  and  enjoyed  his  wit.  She  accustomed  herself 
to  austerities,  which  often  called  forth  the  kindly  rebukes  of  her 
husband  ;  and  yet  she  did  so  without  one  superstitious  thought  of 
appeasing  the  fancied  wrath  of  God,  or  of  giving  Him  pleasure 
'^base  thought)  by  any  pain  of  hers  :  for  her  spirit  had  been  trained 
'n  the  freest  and  loftiest  doctrines  of  Luther's  school  :  and  that 
.ittle  mysiic  "  Alt-Deutsch  Theologie  "  (to  which  the  great  Re- 
former said  that  he  owed  more  than  to  any  book,  save  the  Bible, 
and  St.  Augustine)  was  her  counsellor  and  comforter  by  day  and 
night. 

And  now,  at  a  little  past  forty,  she  was  left  a  widow  ,  lovely 
still  in  .^ace  and  figure  ;  and  still  more  lovely  from  the  divine  calm 
which  brooded,  like  the  dove  o/  peace  and  the  Holy  Spirit  of  Gof' 
(v^hich  indeed  it  was),  over  every  look,  and  word,  and  gesture  ;  a 
sweetness  which  had  been  ripened  by  storm,  as  well  as  by  suQr. 


WESTWARD  HO  !  25  - 

shine  ;  which  this  world  had  not  given,  and  courd  not  take  away. 
No  wonder  that  Sir  Richard  and  Lady  Grenvile  loved  her  ;  no 
wonder  that  lier  children  worshipped"  her  ;  no  wonder  that  the 
young-  Amyas,  when  the  first  burst  of  grief  was  over,  and  he  knew 
again  v;here  he  stood,  felt  that  a  new  life  had  begun  for  him  ;  that 
his  mother  was  no  more  to  think  and  act  for  him  only,  but  that  he 
must  think  and  act  for  his  mother.  And  so  it  was,  that  on  the 
very  day  after  his  father's  funeral,  when  school-hours  Vv-ere  over, 
instead  of  coming  straight  home,  he  walked  boldly  into  Sir  Richaid 
Grenvile's  house,  and  asked  to  see  his  godfather. 

'•  You  must  be  my  father  now,  sir,"  said  he  firmly. 

And  Sir  Richard  looked  at  the  boy's  broad  strong  face,  and  swore 
a  great  and  holy  oath,  like  Glasgerion's,  "  by  oak,  and  ash,  and 
thorn,"  that  he  would  be  a  father  to  him,  and  a  brother  to  his 
mother,  for  Christ's  sake.  And  Lady  Grenvile  took  the  boy  by 
the  hand,  and  walked  home  with  him  to  Burrough  ;  and  there  the 
two  fair  women  fell  on  each  other's  necks,  and  wept  together  ;  the 
one  for  the  loss  which  had  been,  the  other,  as  by  a  prophetic  instinct, 
for  the  like  loss  which  was  to  come  to  her  also.  For  the  sweet 
St.  Leger  knew  well  that  her  husband's  fiery  spirit  would  never 
leave  his  body  on  a  peaceful  bed  ;  but  that  death  (as  he  prayed 
almost  nightly  that  it  might)  would  find  him  sword  in  hand, 
upon  the  field  of  duty  and  of  fame.  And  there  those  two  vowed 
everlasting  sisterhood,  and  kept  their  vow  ;  and  after  that  all 
things  went  on  at  Burrough  as  before  ;  and  Amyas  rode,  and 
shot,  and  boxed,  and  wandered  on  the  quay  at  Sir  Richard's  side  ; 
for  Mrs.  Leigh  was  too  wise  a  woman  to  alter  one  tittle  of  the 
training  which  her  husband  had  thought  best  for  his  younger  boy. 
It  was  enough  that  her  elder  son  had  of  his  own  accord  taken  to 
that  form  of  life  in  which  she  in  her  secret  heart  would  fain  have 
moulded  both  her  children.  For,  Frank,  God's  wedding  gift  to 
that  pure  love  of».hers,  had  won  himself  honor  at  home  and  abroad  ; 
first  at  the  school  at  Bideford  ;  then  at  Exeter  College,  where  he 
had  become  a  friend  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney's,  and  many  another 
young  man  of  rank  and  promise  ;  and  next,  in  the  summer  of  1572, 
on  his  vv^ay  to  the  University  of  Heidelberg,  he  had  gone  to  Paris, 
Vv-ith  (luckily  for  him)  letters  of  recommendation  to  Vvalsingham, 
at  the  English  Embassy  :  by  which  letters  he  not  only  fell  in  a 
second  time  vv'ith  Philip  Sidney,  but  saved  his  own  life  (as  Sidney 
did  his)  in  the  Massacre  of  Saint  Bartholomew's  Day.  At  Heidel- 
berg he  had  stayed  two  years,  winning  fresh  honor  from  all  who 
knew  him,  and  resisting  all  Sidney's  entreaties  to  follow  him  into 
Italy.  For,  scorning  to  be  a  burden  to  his  parents,  he  had  become  at 
Heidelberg  tutor  to  two  young  German  princes,  whom,  after  living 
with  them  at  their  ather's  house  lor  a  year  or  more,  he  at  last,  to  his 
owngreat  delight,  took  with  him  down  to  Padua,  "  to  perfect  them," 
as  he  wrote  home,  "  according  to  his  insufficiency,  in  all  princely 
studies."  Sidney  was  now  returned  to  England  ;  but  Frank  found 
friends  enough  without  him,  such  letters  of  recommendation  and 
diplomas  did  he  carry  from  I  know  not  how  many  princes,  mag- 


«6  JVESTIVARD  HO  t 

nificoes,  and  learned  doctors,  who  had  fallen  in  love  with  the  learn, 
ing,  modesty,  and  virtue  ol  the  fair  young-  Englishman.  And  ere 
Frank  returned  to  Germany  he  had  satiated  his  soul  Vv'ith  all  the 
wonders  of  that  wondrous  land.  He  had  talked  over  the  art  of 
sonnetering  with  Tasso,  the  art  of  history  with  Sarpi  ;  he  had 
listened,  between  awe  and  incredulity,  to  the  daring  theories  of 
Galileo  ;  he  had  taken  his  pupils  to  Venice,  that  their  portraits 
might  be  painted  by  Paul  Veronese  ;  he  had  seen  the  palaces  ol 
Palladio,  and  the  Merchant  Princes  on  the  Rialto,  and  the  Argo- 
sies of  Ragusa,  and  all  the  wonders  of  that  meeting-point  of  east 
and  west  ;  he  had  watched  Tintoretto's  mighty  hand  "  hurling 
tempestuous  glories  o'er  the  scene  ;  and  even  by  dint  of  private 
intercession  in  high  places,  had  been  admitted  to  that  sacred  room 
where,  with  long  silver  beard  and  undimmed  eye,  amid  a  pantheon 
of  his  own  creations,  the  ancient  Titian,  patriarch  of  art,  still  lin- 
gered upon  earth,  and  told  old  tales  of  the  Bellinis,  and  Raffaelle, 
and  Michael  Angelo,  and  the  building  of  St.  Peter's,  and  the  fire 
at  V^enice,  and  the  Sack  of  Rome,  and  of  kings  and  warriors,  states- 
men and  poets,  long  since  gone  to  their  account,  and  showed  the 
sacred  brush  which  Francis  the  First  had  stooped  to  pick  up  for 
him.  And  (licence  forbidden  to  Sidney  by  his  friend  Lanquet)  he 
had  been  to  Rome,  and  seen  (much  to  the  scandal  of  good  Prot- 
estants at  home)  that  "  right  good  fellow,"  as  Sidney  calls  him,  w^ho 
had  not  yet  eaten  himself  to  death,  the  Pope  for  the  time  being. 
And  he  had  seen  the  frescoes  of  the  Vatican,  and  heard  Palestrina 
preside  as  chapel-master  over  the  performance  of  his  own  music 
beneath  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's,  and  fallen  half  in  love  with  those  lus- 
cious strains,  till  he  was  awakened  from  his  dream  by  the  recollec- 
tion that  beneath  that  same  dome  had  gone  up  thanksgivings  to  the 
God  of  heaven  for  those  blood-stained  streets,  and  shrieking  women, 
and  heaps  of  insulted  corpses,  w'hich  he  had  beheld  in  Paris  on  the 
night  of  St.  Bartholomew.  At  last,  a  few  months  before  his  father 
died,  he  had  taken  back  his  pupils  to  their  home  in  Germany,  from 
whence  he  was  dismissed,  as  he  wrote,  with  rich  gifts  ;  and  then 
Mrs.  Leigh's  heart  beat  high,  at  the  thought  that  the  wanderer 
would  return  :  but,  alas  !  within  a  month  after  his  father's  death, 
came  a  long  letter  from  Frank,  describing  the  Alps,  and  the  valleys 
of  the  Waldenses  (with  whose  Barbes  he  had  had  much  talk  about 
the  late  horrible  persecutions),  and  setting  forth  how  at  Padua  he 
had  made  the  acquaintance  of  that  illustrious  scholar  and  light  of 
the  age,  Stephanus  Parmenius  (commonly  called  from  his  native 
place,  Budasus),  who  had  visited  Geneva  with  him,  and  heard  the 
disputations  of  their  most  learned  doctors,  which  both  he  and 
Budaejs  disliked  for  their  hard  judgments  both  of  God  and  man, 
as  much  as  they  admired  them  for  their  subtlety,  being  themselves, 
as  became  Italian  students,  Platonists  of  the  school  of  Ficinus  and 
Picus  Mirandolensis.  So  wrote  Master  Frank,  in  a  long  senten- 
tious letter,  full  of  Latin  quotations  :  but  the  letter  never  reachea 
the  eyes  of  him  for  whose  delight  it  had  been  penned  :  and  the 
widow  had  to  weep  over  it  alone,  and  to  weep  more  bitterly  than 


WESTWARD  HOt  27 

ever  at  the  conclusion,  in  which,  with  many  excuses,  Frank  said  that 
he  had,  at  the  special  entreaty  of  the  said  Budaeus,  set  out  with  him 
down  the  Danube  stream  to  Buda,  that  he  might,  before  finishing 
his  travels,  make  experience  of  that  learning  for  which  the  Hun- 
garians were  famous  throughout  Europe.  And  after  that,  though 
he  wrote  again  and  again  to  the  father  whom  he  fancied  living, 
no  letter  in  return  reached  him  from  home  for  nearly  two  years  ; 
till,  fearing  some  mishap,  he  hurried  back  to  England,  to  find  his 
mother  a  widow  and  his  brother  Amyas  gone  to  the  South  Seas 
with  Captain  Drake  of  Plymouth.  And  yet,  even  then,  after  years 
of  absence,  he  was  not  allowed  to  remain  at  home.  For  Sir  Rich- 
ard, to  whom  idleness  was  a  thing  horrible  and  unrighteous,  would 
have  him  up  and  doing  again  before  six  months  were  over,  and 
sent  him  off  to  Court  to  Lord  Hunsdon. 

There,  being  as  delicately  beautiful  as  his  brother  huge  and  was 
strong,  he  bad  speedily,  by  Carew's  interest  and  that  of  Sidney 
and  his  Uncle  Leicester,  found  entrance  into  some  office  in  the 
Queen's  household  ;  and  he  was  now  basking  in  the  full  sunshine 
of  Court  favor,  and  fair  ladies' eyes,  and  all  the  chivalries  and 
euphuisms  of  Gloriana's  fairy-land,  and  the  fast  friendship  of  that 
bright  meteor  Sidney,  who  had  returned  with  honor  in  1577,  from 
the  delicate  mission  on  behalf  of  the  German  and  Belgian  Protes- 
tants, on  which  he  had  been  sent  to  the  Court  of  Vienna,  under 
color  of  condoling  with  the  new  Emperor  Rodolph  on  his  father's 
death.  Frank  found  him  when  he  himself  came  to  Court  in  1579 
as  lovely  and  loving  as  ever  ;  and,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty-five, 
acknowledged  as  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  Europe,  the 
patron  of  all  men  of  letters,  the  counsellor  of  warriors  and  states- 
men, and  the  confident  and  advocate  of  William  of  Orange,  Lan- 
guet,  Plessis  du  Mornay,  and  all  the  Protestant  leaders  on  the  Con- 
tinent ;  and  found,  moreover,  that  the  son  of  the  poor  Devon  squire 
was  as  welcome  as  ever  to  the  friendship  of  nature's  and  fortune's 
most  favored,  yet  most  unspoilt,  minion. 

Poor  Mrs.  Leigh,  as  one  who  had  long  since  learned  to  have  no 
self,  and  to  live  not  only  for  her  children,  but  in  them,  submitted 
without  a  murmur,  and  only  said,  smiling,  to  her  stern  friend — 
«•  You  took  away  my  mastiff-pup,  and  now  you  must  needs  have 
my  fair  greyhound  also." 

"  Would  you  have  your  fair  greyhound,  dear  lady,  grow  up  a 
tall  and  true  Cotswold  dog,  that  can  pull  down  a  stack  of  ten,  or 
one  Df  those  smooth-skinned  poppets  which  the  Florence  ladies 
lead  about  with  a  ring  of  bells  round  its  neck,  and  a  flannel  far- 
thingale over  its  loins  ?  " 

Mrs.  Leigh  submitted  ;  and  was  rewarded  after  a  few  months 
by  a  letter,  sent  through  Sir  Richard,  from  none  other  than  Glo- 
riana  herself,  in  which  she  thanked  her  for  "  the  loan  of  that  mos> 
delicate  and  flawless  crystal,  the  soul  of  her  excellent  son,"  with 
more  praises  of  him  than  I  have  room  to  insert,  and  finished  by 
exalting  the  poor  mother  above  the  famed  Cornelia  ;  "  for  those 
sons,  whom  she  called  her  jewels,  she  only  showed,  yet  kept  theit 


28  WESTWARD  HO  / 

to  herself:  but  you,  madam,  having-  two  as  precious,  I  doubt  not, 
as  were  ever  that  Roman  dame's,  have,  beyond  her  courage,  lent 
them  both  to  your  country  and  to  your  queen,  who  therein  holds 
herself  indebted  to  you  for  that  which,  if  God  give  her  grace,  she 
will  repay  as  becomes  both  her  and  you."  Which  epistle  tlie 
sweet  mother  bedewed  with  holy  tears,  and  laid  by  in  the  cedar- 
box  which  held  her  household  gods,  by  the  side  of  Frank's  innu- 
merable diplomas  and  letters  of  recommendation,  the  Latin  where- 
of she  was  always  spelling  over  (although  she  understood  not 
a  word  of  it),  in  hopes  of  finding,  here  and  there,  that  precious 
exceilejitissimus  Noster  Franciscus  Leighiiis  Anglus,  which  was 
all  in  all  to  the  mother's  heart. 

But  why  did  Amyas  go  to  the  South  Seas  ?  Amyas  went  to  the 
South  Seas  for  two  causes,  each  of  which  has,  before  now,  sent 
many  a  lad  to  far  worse  places  :  first,  because  of  an  old  school- 
master ;  secondly,  because  of  a  young  beauty.  I  will  take  them  in 
order  and  explain. 

Vindex  Brimblecombe,  whilom  servitor  of  Exeter  College,  Ox« 
ford,  (commonly  called  Sir  Vindex,  after  the  fashion  of  the  times), 
was,  in  those  days,  master  of  the  grammar-school  of  Bideford. 
He  was,  at  root,  a  godly  and  kind-hearted  pedant  enough  ;  but, 
-like  most  schoolmasters  in  the  old  flogging  days,  had  his  heart 
pretty  well  hardened  by  long,  baneful  licence  to  inflict  pain  at 
will  on  those  weaker  than  himself ;  a  power  healthful  enough  for 
the  victim,  (for,  doubtless,  flogging  is  the  best  of  all  punishments, 
being  not  only  the  shortest,  but  also  a  mere  bodily  and  animal, 
and  not,  like  most  of  our  new-fangled  "  humane  "  punishments, 
a  spiritual  and  fiendish  torture),  but  for  the  executioner  pretty  cer- 
tain to  eradicate,  trom  all  but  the  noblest  spirits,  every  trace  oi 
chivalry  and  tenderness  for  the  weak,  as  well,  often,  as  all  self- 
control  and  command  of  temper.  Be  that  as  it  may,  old  Sir  Vin- 
dex had  heart  enough  to  feel  that  it  was  now  his  duty  to  take 
especial  care  of  the  fatherless  boy  to  whom  he  tried  to  teach  his 
qui,  qucE,  quod :  but  the  only  outcome  of  that  new  sense  of  re- 
sponsibility was  a  rapid  increase  in  the  number  of  floggings,  which 
rose  from  about  two  a  week  to  one  per  diem,  not  without  conse- 
quences to  the  pedagogue  himself. 

For  all  this  while,  Amyas  had  never  for  a  mom.ent  lost  sight  of 
his  darling  desire  for  a  sea-life  ;  and  when  he  could  not  wander  on 
the  quay  and  stare  at  the  shipping,  or  go  down  to  the  pebble-ridge 
at  Northam,  and  there  sit,  devouring,  with  hungry  eyes,  the  great- 
expanse  of  ocean,  which  seemed  to  woo  him  outward  into  bound- 
less space,  he  used  to  console  himself,  in  school-hours,  by  draw 
ing  ships  and  imaginary  chart?  \ipon  his  slate,  instead  of  minding 
his  "  humanities." 

Now  it  befell,  upon  an  afternoon,  that  he  was  very  busy  at  a 
map,  or  birds-eye  view  of  an  island,  whereon  was  a  great  castle, 
and  at  the  gate  thereof  a  dragon  terrible  to  see;  while,  in  the  fore- 
ground came  that  which  was  meant  for  a  gallant  ship,  with  a  great 
flag  aloft,  but  which,  by  reason  of  the  forest  of  lances  with  which 


WESTWARD  HO!  2g 

it  was  crowded,  looked  much  more  like  a  porcupine  carrying  a 
sign-post ;  and,  at  the  roots  of  those  lances,  many  little  round  o's, 
whereby  was  signified  the  heads  of  Amyas  and  his  schoolfellows 
who  were  about  to  slay  that  dragon,  and  rescue  the  beautiful  prin^ 
cess  who  dwelt  in  that  enchanted  tower.  To  behold  which  mar- 
vel of  art,  all  the  other  boys  at  the  same  desk  must  needs  club  theiir 
heads  together,  and  with  the  more  security,  because  Sir  VindeX: 
as  was  his  custom  after  dinner,  w^as  lying  back  in  his  chair,  anci 
slept  the  sleep  of  the  just. 

But  w^hen  Amyas,  by  special  instigation  of  the  evil  spirit  who 
haunts  successful  artists,  proceeded  further  to  introduce,  heedless 
of  perspective,  a  rock,  on  which  stood  the  lively  portraiture  of  Sir 
Vindex — nose,  spectacles,  gown,  and  all  ;  and  in  his  hand  a  bran- 
dished rod,  while  out  of  his  mouth  a  label  shrieked  after  the  run- 
aways, "  You  come  back  !  "  while  a  similar  label  replied  from  the 
gallant  bark,  "  Good-bye,  master  !  "  the  shoving  and  tittering  rose 
to  such  a  pitch,  that  Cerberus  awoke,  and  demanded  sternly  what 
the  noise  was  about.     To  which,  of  course,  there  was  no  answer. 

"  You,  of  course,  Leigh  !  Come  up,  sir,  and  show  me  your 
exercitation." 

Now  of  Amyas 's  exercitation  not  a  word  was  written  ;  and, 
moreover,  he  was  in  the  very  act  of  putting  the  last  touches  to  Mr. 
Brimblecombe's  portrait.  Whereon,  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
hearers,  he  made  answer — 

"  All  in  good  time,  sir  !  "  and  went  on  drawing. 

"  In  good  time,  sir  !     Insolent,  veni  et  vapida  J  " 

Amyas  went  on  drawing. 

"Come  hither,  sirrah,  or  I'll  flay  you  alive!" 

"  Wait  a  bit!  "  ansv.^ered  Amyas. 

The  old  gentleman  jumped  up,  ferule  in  hand,  and  darted  across 
the  school,  and  saw  himself  upon  the  fatal  slate. 

"  Proh  JlagUiuiti  !  what  have  we  here,  villain  .? "  and  clutching 
a+  his  victim  he  raised  the  cane.  Whereupon,  with  a  serene  and 
cheerful  countenance,  up  rose  the  mighty  form  of  Amyas  Leigh,  a 
head  and  shoulders  above  his  tormentor,  and  that  slate  descended 
on  the  bald  coxcomb  of  Sir  Vindex  Brimblecombe,  with  so  shrewd 
a  blow,  that  slate  and  pate  cracked  at  the  same  instant,  and  the 
poor  pedagogue  dropped  to  the  floor,  and  lay  for  dead. 

After  which  Amyas  arose,  and  walked  out  of  the  school,  and 
so  quietly  home  ;  and  having  taken  counsel  with  himself,  went  to 
his  mother,  and  said,  "  Please,  mother,  I've  broken  schoolmaster's 
head." 

"  Broken  his  head,  thou  wicked  boy  !  "  shrieked  the  poor  v^-idovr  ; 
''■  what  did'st  do  that  for  ?  " 

"I  can't  tell,"  said  Amyas  penitently;  "I  couldn't  help  it.  U 
looked  so  smooth,  and  bald,  and  round,  and — you  know  ?" 

"  I  know  }  Oh,  wicked  boy  !  thou  hast  given  place  to  the  devil ; 
and  now,  perhaps,  thou  hast  killed  him." 

"  Killed  the  devil  "i  "  asked  Amyas,  hopefully  but  doubtfully. 

•*  No.  killed  the  schoolmaster,  sirrah  i     Is  he  dead  ?  " 


30  WESTWAI^D  HO  I 

"  I  don't  think  he's  dead  ;  his  coxcomb  sounded  too  hard  fof 
that.     But  had  I  not  better  go  and  tell  Sir  Richard  ?  " 

The  poor  mother  could  hardly  help  laughing,  in  spite  of  her 
terror,  at  Amyas's  perfect  coolness  (which  was  not  in  the  least 
meant  for  insolence;,  and  being  at  her  wit's  end,  sent  him,  as  usua,' 
to  his  godfather. 

Amyas  rehearsed  his  story  again,  with  pretty  nearly  the  same 
exclamations,  to  which  he  gave  pretty  nearly  the  same  answers ; 
and  then — 

"  What  was  he  going  to  do  to  you,  then,  sirrah  ?  " 

"Flog  me  because  I  could  not  write  my  exercise,  and  so  drew  a 
picture  of  him  instead." 

"  What  !  art  afraid  of  being  flogged  ?  " 

"  Not  a  bit  ;  besides,  I'm  too  much  accustomed  to  it ;  but  I  was 
busy,  and  he  was  in  such  a  desperate  hurry;  and,  oh,  sir,  if  you 
had  but  seen  his  bald  head,  you  would  have  broken  it  yourself!  *' 

Now  Sir  Richard  had,  twenty  years  ago,  in  like  place,  and  very 
much  in  like  manner,  broken  the  head  of  Vindex  Brimblecombe 's 
father,  schoolmaster  in  his  day  ;  and  therefore  had  a  precedent 
to  direct  him  ;  and  he  answered — 

"  Amyas,  sirrah  !  those  who  cannot  obey  will  never  be  fit  to 
rule.  If  thou  canst  not  keep  discipline  now,  thou  wilt  never  make 
a  company  or  a  crew  keep  it  when  thou  art  grown.  Dost  mind 
that,  sirrah  .''  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Then  go  back  to  school  this  moment,  sir,  and  be  flogged." 

"Very  well,"  said  Amyas,  considering  that  he  had  got  off  verj' 
cheaply  ;  while  Sir  Richard,  as  soon  as  he  was  out  of  the  room, 
lay  back  in  his  chair,  and  laughed  till  he  cried  again. 

So  Amyas  went  back,  and  said  that  he  was  come  to  be  flogged  ; 
whereon  the  old  schoolmaster,  whose  pate  had  been  plastered 
meanwhile,  wept  tears  of  joy  over  the  returning  prodigal,  and  then 
gave  him  such  a  switching  as  he  did  not  forget  for  eight-and-forty 
hours. 

But  that  evening  Sir  Richard  sent  for  old  Vindex,  who  entereo, 
trembling,  cap  in  hand  ;  and  having  primed  him  with  a  cup  or 
sack,  said, — 

"  Well,  Mr.  Schoolmaster  !  My  godson  has  been  somewhat  too 
much  for  you  to-day.  There  are  a  couple  of  nobles  to  pay  the 
doctor." 

"  O  Sir  Richard,  gratias  tibi  et  Domino  !  but  the  boy  hits 
shrewdly  hard.  Nevertheless  I  have  repaid  him  in  inverse  kind, 
and  set  him  an  imposition,  to  learn  me  one  of  Phsedrus  his  fables, 
Sir  Richard,  if  you  do  not  think  it  too  much." 

"Which,  then  .^  The  one  about  the  man  who  brought  up  ;< 
lion's  cub,  and  was  eaten  by  him  in  play  at  last  ?  " 

"  Ah,  Sir  Richard  I  you  have  always  a  merry  wit.  But,  indeed, 
the  boy  is  a  brave  boy,  and  a  quick  boy,  Sir  Richard,  but  more 
forgetful  than  Lethe  ;  ^nd-^sapienti  loquor — it  were  well  if  he 
vere  away,  for  I  5hall  never  see  him  again  v/ithout  my  head  ach- 


WESTWARD  HO  I 


3^ 


big.  Moreover,  he  put  my  son  Jack  upon  the  fire  last  Wednesday, 
as  you  would  put  a  football,  though  he  is  a  year  older,  your 
worship,  because,  he  said,  he  looked  so  like  a  roasting  pig,  Sir 
Richard." 

"  Alas,  poor  Jack  !  " 

"  And  what's  more,  your  worship,  he  is  pugnax,  bellicosus, 
gladiator,  a  fire-eater  and  swash-buckler,  beyond  all  Christiar 
measure  ;  a  very  sucking  Entellus,  Sir  Richard,  and  will  do  tc. 
death  some  of  her  majesty's  lieges  ere  long,  if  he  be  not  wiselj 
curbed.  It  was  but  a  month  agone  that  he  bemoaned  himself,  I 
hear,  as  Alexander  did,  because  there  were  no  more  worlds  to 
conquer,  saying  that  it  was  a  pity  he  was  so  strong  ;  for,  now  he 
had  thrashed  all  the  Bideford  lads,  he  had  no  sport  left ;  and  so, 
as  my  Jack  tells  me,  last  Tuesday  week  he  fell  upon  a  young  man 
of  Barnstaple,  Sir  Richard,  a  hosier's  man,  sir,  and  pLebeius 
(which  I  consider  unfit  for  one  of  his  blood),  and,  moreover,  a  man 
full  grown,  and  as  big  as  either  of  us  (Vindex  stood  five  feet  four 
in  his  high-heeled  shoes),  and  smote  him  clean  over  the  quay  into 
the  mud,  because  he  said  that  there  was  a  prettier  maid  in  Barn- 
staple (your  worship  will  forgive  my  speaking  of  such  toys,  to 
which  my  fidelity  compels  me)  than  ever  Bideford  could  show  ; 
and  then  offered  to  do  the  same  to  any  man  who  dare  say  that 
Mistress  Rose  Salterne,  his  Worship  the  Mayor's  daughter,  was 
not  the  fairest  lass  in  all  Devon." 

"  Eh  ?  Say  that  over  again,  my  good  sir,"  quoth  Sir  Richard, 
who  had  thus  arrived,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  second  count  of  the 
indictment.  "  I  say,  good  sir,  whence  dost  thou  hear  all  these 
pretty  stories  ?  " 

"  My  son  Jack,  Sir  Richard,  my  son  Jack,  ingenuivultus  puer.'* 

"  But  not,  it  seems,  ingenui  pudoris.  Tell  thee  what,  Mr. 
Schoolmaster,  no  wonder  if  thy  son  gets  put  on  the  fire,  if  thou 
employ  him  as  a  tale-bearer.  But  that  is  the  way  of  all  pedagogues 
and  their  sons,  by  which  they  train  the  lads  up  eavesdroppers  and 
favor-curriers,  and  prepare  them — sirrah,  do  you  hear  ? — for  a 
much  more  lasting  and  hotter  fire  than  that  which  has  scorchec. 
thy  son  Jack's  nether-tackle.     Do  you  mark  m.e,  sir  ?  " 

The  poor  pedagogue,  thus  cunningly  caught  in  his  own  trap, 
Stood  trembling  before  his  patron,  who,  as  hereditary  head  of  the 
Bridge  Trust,  which  endowed  the  school  and  the  rest  of  the  Bide- 
ford charities,  could,  by  a  turn  of  his  finger,  sweep  him  forth  with 
the  besom  of  destruction  ;  and  he  gasped  with  terror  as  Sir 
Richard  went  on — 

"  Therefore,  mind  you.  Sir  Schoolmaster,  unless  you  shall 
promise  me  never  to  hint  word  of  what  has  passed  between  us 
two,  and  that  neither  you  nor  yours  shall  henceforth  carry  tales  ot 
my  godson,  or  speak  his  name  within  a  day's  march  of  Mistress 
Salterne's,  look  to  it,  if  I  do  not " 

What  was  to  be  done  in  default  was  not  spoken  ;  for  down  went 
poor  old  Vindex  on  his  knees  : — 

*' Oh,  Sir  Richard!     Excellentissimg,  immd  j>r<zcelsissime  Dc 


22  WESTWARD  HO  1 

min£  et  Senator,  I  promise  !     O  sir,  Miles  et  Eques  of  the  Garter, 
Bath,  and  Golden  Fleece,  consider  your  dignities,  and  my  old  age 

and  my  great  family — nine  children — oh,  Sir  Richard,  and  eight 

of  them  girls  ! — Do  eagles  war  with  mice  ?  says  the  ancient  !  " 

"  Thy  large  family,  eh  ?  How  old  is  that  fat-witted  son  of 
thine  ? " 

"  Sixteen,  Sir  Richard  ;  but  that  is  not  his  fault,  indeed  i  " 

"  Nay,  I  suppose  he  would  be  still  sucking  his  thumb  if  he  dareci 
—get  up,  man — get  up  and  seat  yourself." 

"  Heaven  forbid  !  "  murmured  poor  Vindex,  with  deep  humility. 

"  Why  is  not  the  rogue  at  Oxford,  with  a  murrain  on  him 
instead  of  lurching  about  here  carrying  tales,  and  ogling  the 
maidens  ? " 

"  I  had  hoped.  Sir  Richard— and  therefore  I  said  it  was  not  his 
fault — but  there  was  never  a  servitorship  at  Exeter  open." 

"  Go  to,  man— go  to  !  I  will  speak  to  my  brethren  of  the  Trust, 
and  to  Oxford  he  shall  go  this  autumn,  or  else  to  Exeter  jail,  for 
a  strong  rogue,  and  a  masterless  man.     Do  you  hear  ?  " 

"  Hear  ?— oh,  sir  ;  yes  !  and  return  thanks.  Jack  shall  go.  Sir 
Richard,  doubt  it  not — I  were  mad  else  ;  and,  Sir  Richard,  may 
I  go  too  ? " 

And  therewith  Vindex  vanished,  and  Sir  Richard  enjoyed  a 
second  mighty  laugh,  which  brought  in  Lady  Grenvile,  v/ho 
possibly  have  overheard  the  whole  ;  for  the  first  words  she  said 
were — 

"  I  think,  my  sweet  life,  we  had  better  go  up  to  Burrough. 

So  to  Burrough  they  went  ;  and  after  much  talk,  and  many 
tears,  matters  were  so  concluded  that  Amyas  Leigh  found  himself 
riding  joyfully  towards  Plymouth,  by  the  side  of  Sir  Richard,  and 
beino-  handed  over  to  Captain  Drake,  vanished  for  three  years 
from  the  good  town  of  Bideford. 

And  now  he  is  returned  in  triumph,  and  the  observed  of  all  ob- 
servers ;  and  looks  round  and  round,  and  sees  all  faces  whom  he 
expects,  except  one  ;  and  that  the  one  which  he  had  rather  see 
than  his  mother's  ?     He  is  not  quite  sure.     Shame  on  himself ! 

And  now  the  prayers  being  ended,  the  Rector  ascends  the 
pulpit,  and  begins  his  sermon  on  the  text  : — 

•'  The  heaven  and  the  heaven  of  heavens  are  the  Lord's  ;  the 
whole  earth  hath  he  "-iven  to  the  children  of  men  ;  "  deducing 
thereform  craftily,  to  the  exceeding  pleasure  of  his  hearers,  the 
iniquity  of  the  Spaniards  in  dispossessing  the  Indians,  and  in  ar- 
rogating to  themselves  the  sovereignty  of  the  tropic  seas  ;  the 
vanity  of  the  Pope  of  Rome  in  pretending  to  bestow  on  them  the 
new  countries  of  America  ;  and  the  justice,  valor,  and  glory  of 
Mr.  Drake  and  his  expedition,  as  testified  by  God's  miraculous 
protection  of  him  and  his,  both  in  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  and 
in  his  battle  with  the  Galleon  ;  and  last,  but  not  least,  upon  the 
rock  by  Celebes,  when  the  Pelican  lay  for  hours  firmly  fixed  and 
was  floated  oft'  unhurt,  as  it  were  h^  miracle,  by  a  sudden  shift  of 
wind. 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


33 


Ay,  smile,  reader,  if  you  will  ;  and,  perhaps,  there  was  matter 
for  a  smile  in  that  honest  sermon,  interlarded,  as  it  was,  with 
scraps  of  Greek  and  Hebrew,  which  no  one  understood,  but  every 
one  expected  as  their  right  (for  a  preacher  was  nothing  then  who 
could  not  prove  himself  "  a  good  Latiner  ")  ;  and  graced,  more- 
over, by  a  somewhat  pedantic  and  lengthy  refutation  from  Scrip- 
ture of  Dan  Horace's  cockney  horror  of  the  sea — 

"  lUi  robur  et  ss  triplex,"  etc., 

and  his  infidel  and  ungodly  slander  against  the  "  impias  rates,' 
and  their  crews. 

Smile,  if  you  will  :  but  those  were  days  (and  there  were  never 
less  superstitious  ones)  in  which  Englishmen  believed  in  the  living 
God,  and  were  not  ashamed  to  acknowledge,  as  a  matter  of  course. 
His  help  and  providence,  and  calling,  in  the  matters  of  daily  life, 
which  we  now  in  our  covert  Atheism  term  "  secular  and  carnal ;  " 
and  when,  the  sermon  ended,  the  Communion  Service  had  begun, 
and  the  bread  and  the  wine  were  given  to  those  five  mariners, 
every  gallant  gentleman  who  stood  near  them  (for  the  press  would 
not  allow  of  more)  knelt  and  received  the  elements  with  them  as 
a  thing  of  course,  and  then  rose  to  join  with  heart  and  voice  not 
merely  in  the  Gloria  in  Excelsis,  but  in  the  Te  Deum,  which 
was  the  closing  act  of  all.  And  no  sooner  had  the  clerk  given 
out  the  first  verse  of  that  great  hymn,  than  it  was  taken  up  by  five 
hundred  voices  within  the  church,  in  bass  and  tenor,  treble  and 
alto  (for  every  one  could  sing  in  those  days,  and  the  west  country 
folk,  as  now,  were  fuller  than  any  of  music),  the  chaunt  was 
caught  up  by  the  crowd  outside,  and  rang  away  over  roof  and 
river,  up  to  the  woods  of  Annery,  and  down  to  the  marshes  of  the 
Taw,  in  wave  on  wave  of  harmony.  And  as  it  died  away,  the 
shipping  in  the  river  made  answer  with  their  thunder,  and  the 
crowd  streamed  out  again  toward  the  Bridge  Head,  whither  Sir 
Richard  Grenvile,  and  Sir  John  Chichester,  and  Mr.  Salterne,  the 
Mayor,  led  the  five  heroes  of  the  day  to  await  the  pageant  which 
had  been  prepared  in  honor  of  them.  And  as  they  went  by,  there 
were  few  in  the  crowd  who  did  not  press  forward  to  shake  them 
by  the  hand,  and  not  only  them,  but  their  parents  and  kinsfolk 
who  walked  behind,  till  Mrs.  Leigh,  her  stately  joy  quite  broken 
down  at  last,  could  only  answer  between  her  sobs,  "  Go  along, 
good  people — God  a  mercy,  go  along — and  God  send  you  all  such 
sons  !  " 

"  God  give  me  back  mine  !  "  cried  an  old  red-cloaked  dame  in 
the  crowd  ;  and  then,  struck  by  some  hidden  impulse,  she  sprang 
forward,  and  catching  hold  of  young  Amyas's  sleeve — 

"  Kind  sir  !  dear  sir  !  For  Christ  his  sake  answer  a  poor  old 
widow  v/oman  !  " 

"  What  is  it,  dame  ?  "  quoth  Amyas  gently  enough. 

"  Did  you  see  my  son  to  the  Indies  .^— my  son  Salvation  ?  " 

"  Salvation  ?  "  replied  he,  with  the  air  of  one  who  recollected 
the  nam«. 


34  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

**  Yes,  sure,  Salvation  Yeo,  of  Clovelly.  A  tali  man  and  black, 
and  swearetli  awfully  in  his  talk,  the  Lord  forgive  him  !  " 

Amyas  recollected  now.  It  was  the  name  of  the  sailor  who  had 
given  nim  the  wondrous  horn  five  years  ago. 

"  My  good  dame,"  said  he,  "  the  Indies  are  a  very  large  place, 
and  your  son  may  be  safe  and  sound  enough  there,  without  my 
having  seen  him.     I  knew  one  Salvation  Yeo.     But  he  must  have 

come  with .     By  the  by,  godfather,  has   Mr.   Oxenham   come 

home  ?  " 

There  was  a  dead  silence  for  a  moment  among  the  gentlemen 
round  ;  and  then  Sir  Richard  said  solemnly,  and  in  a  low  voice, 
turning  away  from  the  old  dame, — 

"  Amyas,  Mr.  Oxenham  has  not  come  home  ;  and  from  the  day 
he  sailed,  no  word  has  been  heard  of  him  and  all  his  crew." 

"Oh,  Sir  Richard!  and  you  kept  me  from  sailing  with  him! 
Had  I  known  this  before  I  went  into  church,  I  had  had  one  mercy 
more  to  thank  God  for." 

**  Thank  Him  all  the  more  in  thy  life,  my  child  ?  "  whispered  his 
mother. 

"  And  no  news  of  him  whatsoever  ?  " 

"  None  ;  but  that  the  year  after  he  sailed,  a  ship  belonging  to 
Andrew  Barker,  of  Bristol,  took  out  of  a  Spanish  caravel,  some- 
where off  the  Honduras,  his  two  brass  guns  ;  but  whence  they 
came  the  Spaniard  knew  not,  having  bought  them  at  Nombre  de 
Dios." 

"  Yes  !  "  cried  the  old  woman  ;  "  they  brought  home  the  guns 
and  never  brought  home  my  boy  !  " 

**  They  never  saw  your  boy,  mother,"  said  Sir  Richard. 

"  But  I've  seen  him  !  I  saw  him  in  a  dream  four  years  last 
Whitsuntide,  as  plain  tts  I  see  you  now,  gentles,  a-lying  upon  a 
rock,  calling  for  a  drop  of  water  to  cool  his  tongue,  like  Dives  to 
the  torment  !  Oh  !  dear  me  !  "  and  the  old  dame  wept  bitterly. 

"  There  is  a  rose  noble  for  you  !  "  said  Mrs.  Leig-h. 

"  And  there  another  !  "  said  Sir  Richard.  And  m  a  few  minutes 
four  or  five  gold  coins  were  in  her  hand.  But  the  old  dame  did 
but  look  wonderingly  at  the  gold  a  moment,  and  then — 

"Ah!  dear  gentles,  God's  blessing  on  you,  and  Mr.  Gary's 
mighty  good  to  me  already  ;  but  gold  won't  buy  back  childer  !  O  ! 
young  gentleman  !  young  gentleman  !  make  me  a  promise  ;  if  you 
want  God's  blessing  on  you  this  day,  bring  me  back  my  boy,  if 
you  find  him  sailing  on  the  seas  !  Bring  him  back,  and  an  old 
widow's  blessing  be  on  you  !  " 

Amyas  promised — what  else  could  he  do  ? — and  the  group 
hurried  on  ;  but  the  lad's  heart  was  heavy  in  the  midst  of  joy,  with 
the  thought  of  John  Oxenham,  as  he  walked  through  the  church- 
yard, and  down  the  short  street  which  led  between  the  ancient 
school  and  still  more  ancient  town-house,  to  the  head  of  the  long 
bridge,  across  which  the  pageant,  having  arranged  "  east-the- 
water,"  was  to  defile,  and  then  turn  to  the  right  along  the  quay. 
However,  he  was  bound  in  all  courtesy  to  turn  his  attention 


WESTWARD  HO!  33 

viow  to  the  show  which  had  been  prepared  in  his  honor  ;  and 
which  was  really  well  enough  worth  seeing  and  hearing.  The 
English  were,  in  those  days,  an  altogether  dramatic  people  ;  ready 
and  able,  as  in  Bideford  that  day,  to  extemporize  a  pageant,  a 
masque,  or  anyeffort  of  the  Thespian  art  short  ofthe  regular  drama. 
For  they  were,  in  the  first  place,  even  down  to  the  very  poorest, 
a  well-fed  people,  with  fewer  luxuries  than  we,  but  more  abundant 
necessaries  ;  and  while  beef,  ale,  and  good  woollen  clothes  could  be 
obtained  in  plenty,  without  overworking  either  body  or  soul,  men 
had  time  to  amuse  themselves  in  something  more  intellectual  than 
mere  toping  in  pot-houses.  Moreover,  the  half  century  after  the 
Reformation  in  England  was  one  not  merely  of  new  intellectual 
freedom,  but  of  immense  animal  good  spirits.  After  years  of 
dumb  confusion  and  cruel  persecution,  a  breathing  time  had  come  : 
Mary  and  the  fires  of  Smithfield  had  vanished  together  like  a  hid- 
eous dream,  and  the  mighty  shout  of  joy  which  greeted  Elizabeth's 
entry  into  London,  was  the  key-note  of  fifty  glorious  years  ;  the 
expression  of  a  new-found  strength  and  freedom,  which  vented 
itself  at  home  in  drama  and  in  song  ;  abroad  in  mighty  conquests, 
achieved  with  the  laughing  recklessness  of  boys  at  play. 

So  first,  preceded  by  the  waits,  came  along  the  bridge  toward 
the  town-hall,  a  device  prepared  by  the  good  rector,  who,  standing 
by,  acted  as  showman,  and  explained  anxiously  to  the  bystanders 
the  import  of  a  certaii)  "  allegory  "wherein  on  a  great  banner  was 
depicted  Queen  Elizabeth  herself,  who,  in  ample  ruff  and  far- 
thingale, a  Bible  in  one  hand  and  a  sword  in  the  other,  stood 
triumphant  upon  the  necks  of  two  sufficiently  abject  personages, 
whose  triple  tiara  and  im.perial  crown  proclaimed  them  the  Pope 
and  the  King  of  Spain  ;  while  a  label,  issuing  from  her  royal 
mouth  informed  the  world  that — 


**  By  land  and  sea  a  virgin  queen  T  refgii, 
And  spurn  to  dust  both  Antichrist  and  Spain.** 


Which  having  been  received  with  due  applause,  a  well-bedizened 
lad,  having  in  his  cap  as  a  posy  "  Loyalty,"  stepped  forward,  and 
delivered  himself  of  the  followingf  verses  : — 


'& 


Oh,  great  Eliza!  oh,  world-famous  crewl 

Which  shall  I  hail  more  blest,  your  queen  or  ycu? 

While  without  other  either  falls  to  wrack, 

Andli^ht  must  eyes,  or  eyes  their  light  must  lack. 

She  without  you,  a  diamond  sunk  in  mine, 

Its  worth  unprized,  to  self  alone  must  shme; 

You  without  her,  like  hands  bereft  of  head, 

Like  Ajax  rage,  by  blindfold  lust  misled. 

She  light,  you  eyes  ;  she  head,  and  you  the  hauda» 

In  fair  proportion  knit  by  heavenly  bands  ; 

Servants  in  queen,  and  queen  in  servants  blest; 

Your  only  glory,  how  to  serve  her  best, 

And  hers  how  best  the  adventurous  might  to  guide. 

Which  knows  no  check  of  foemen,  wind  or  tide, 

,^.      So  fair  Eliza's  spotless  fame  m  ly  fly 

Trixttphant  round  th«  globe,  and  shake  th*  Mtounded  lie/X 


^5  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

With  which  sufficiently  bad  verses  Loyalty  passed  on,  ■•viiTir  nif' 
Lady  Bath  hinted  to  Sir  Richard,  not  without  reason,  that  the 
poet,  in  trying  to  exalt  both  parties,  had  very  sufficiently  snubbe-i 
both,  and  intimated,  that  it  was  "  hardly  safe  for  country  wits  to 
attempt  that  euphuistic,  antithetical,  and  delicately  conceited  vein, 
whose  proper  fountain  was  in  Whitehall."  However,  on  went 
Loyalty,  very  well  pleased  with  himself,  and  next,  amid  much 
cheering,  two  great  tinsel  fish,  a  salmon,  and  a  trout,  symbolical 
of  the  wealth  of  Torridge,  waddled  along,  by  means  of  two  hum.an 
legs  and  a  staff  apiece,  which  protruded  Irom  the  fishes'  stomachs. 
They  drew  (or  seemed  to  draw,  for  half  the  'prentices  in  the  tov:n 
were  shoving  it  behind,  and  cheering  on  the  panting  monarchs  of 
the  flood)  a  car  wherein  sate,  amid  reeds  and  river-flags,  three  or 
four  pretty  girls  in  robes  of  gray-blue  spangled  with  gold,  their 
heads  wreathed  one  with  a  crov/n  of  the  sweet  bog-myrtle,  an- 
other with,  hops  and  white  convolvulus,  the  third  with  pale  heather 
and  golden  fern.  They  stopped  opposite  Amyas  ;  and  she  of  the 
myrtle  wreath,  rising  and  bowing  to  him.  and  the  company,  began 
Vfith  a  pretty  blush  to  say  her  say: — 

Hither  from  my  moorland  homcj 

Nymph  of  Torridge,  proud  I  come ; 

Leaving  fen  and  furzy  brake, 

Haunt  of  eft  and  spotted  snakej 

Where  to  fill  mine  urns  I  use» 

Daily  with  Atlantic  dews; 

While  beside  the  reedy  flood 

Wild  ducli  leads  lier  paddling  brood* 

For  this  mom,  as  Phoebus  gay 

Chased  through  heaven  the  night  Btist  ^Vf% 

Close  beside  me,  prankt  in  pride» 

Sister  Tamar  rose,  and  cried, 

*  Sluggard,  up !    'Tis  holiday, 
In  the  lowlands  far  awr.y. 

Hark  1  how  jocund  Blymouth  bella, 
Wandering  upthrouc;h  mazy  dells. 
Call  me  down,  with  smiles  to  hail, 
Mjr  aaiing  Drake's  returning  sail.* 
*Thine  alone  ?'  I  answer'd.     *Nay> 
Mine  as  well  the  jcy  to-day; 
Heroes  train'd  on  Northern  wave. 
To  that  Argo  new  I  gave  ; 
Lent  to  thee,  they  roam'd  the  nia!»  S 
Give  me,  nymph,  my  sons  again.' 

*  Go,  they  wait  Thee,'  Tamar  cried, 
Southward  bounding  from  my  side. 
Glad  I  rose,  and  at  my  call, 
Came  my  Naiads,  one  and  all. 
Nursling  of  the  mountain  sky, 
Leaving  Dian's  choir  on  high, 
Down  her  cataracts  laughing  loud| 
Ockment  leapt  from  crag  and  cloud. 
Leading  many  a  nymph,  who  dwells 
Where  wiid  deer  driiik  in  ferny  dells  { 
While  the  Oreads  as  they  past 
Peep'd  from  Druid  Tors  aghast 

By  alder  copses  sliding  slow, 
Knee-deep  in  flowers  came  gentler  ¥•• 
And  paused  awhile  her  locks  to  twine 
With  musky  hops  and  white  woodbiaa. 
Then  joined  the  silver-footed  band, 
Which  circled  down  my  golden  sand. 
By  dappled  park^  and  harbor  sludjr, 


t7 


ESTWARD  HO. 

Aa«nt  of  love-lorn  knight  and  lady. 

My  thrice-renowned  sons  to  greet| 

Wuh  rustic  song  and  pageant  meet. 

For  joy!   the  girdled  robe  around 

Eliza's  name  hencefortli  shall  sound. 

Whose  venturous  fleets  to  conquest  star^ 

Where  ended  once  the  seaman's  chart, 

While  circling  So!  liis  steps  shall  count 

Henceforth  from  Thule's  western  mountf 

And  lead  new  rulers  round  the  seas 

From  furthest  Cassiterides. 

For  found  is  now  the  golden  treci 

Solv'd  th'  Atlantic  mysteiy, 

Pluck'd  the  dragon -guarded  fruit; 

While  around  the  charmed  root, 

Wailing  loud,  the  Hesperids 

Watch  their  warder's  drooping  lids. 

Low  he  lies  with  grisly  wound, 

While  the  sorceress  triple-crown'd 

In  her  scarlet  robe  doth  shield  him, 

Till  her  cunning  spells  have  heal'd  hita     ' 

Ye,  meanwhile,  around  the  earth 

Bear  the  prize  of  manful  worth. 

Yet  a  nobler  meed  than  gold 

Waits  for  Albion's  children  bold; 

Great  Eliza's  virgin  hand 

Welcomes  you  to  Fairy-land, 

While  your  native  Naiads  bring 

Native  wreaths  as  offering. 

Simple  though  their  show  may  be, 

Britain's  worship  in  them  see. 

'TIS  not  price,  nor  outward  fairness* 

Gives  the  victor's  palm  its  rareness 

Simplest  tokens  can  impart 

Noble  throb  to  noble  heart  : 

Grjecia,  prize  thy  parsley  crowns 

Boast  thy  laurel,  Caesar's  town  ; 

Moorland  myrtle  still  shall  be 

Badge  of  Devon's  Chivalry  1  " 

And  so  ending  s.\e  took  the  wreath  of  fragrant  gale  from  her 
own  head,  and  stooping  from  the  car,  placed  it  on  the  head  of 
Amyas  Leigh,  who  made  answer — 

"  There  is  no  place  like  home,  my  fair  mistress  ;  and  no  scent 
to  my  taste  like  this  old  home-scent  in  all  the  spice-islands  that  I 
"sver  sailed  by  !  " 

'•  Her  song  was  not  so  bad,"  said  Sir  Richard  to  Lady  Bath— 
*'  But  how  came  she  to  hear  Plymouth  bells  at  Tamar-head,  full 
fifty  miles  away  ?  That's  too  much  of  a  poet's  license,  is  it 
not  ?  " 

"  The  river  nymphs,  as  daughters  of  Oceanus,  and  thus  of  im- 
mortal parentage,  are  bound  to  possess  organs  of  more  than  mor- 
tal keenness  ;  but,  as  you  say,  the  song  was  not  so  bad — erudite, 
as  well  as  prettily  conceived — and,  saving  for  a  certain  rustical 
simplicity  and  monosyllabic  baldness,  smacks  rather  of  the  forests 
of  Castaly  than  those  of  Torridge." 

So  spake  my  Lady  Bath  ;  whom  Sir  Richard  wisely  answered 
not ;  for  she  was  a  terribly  learned  member  of  the  college  of 
critics,  and  disputed  even  with  Sidney's  sister  the  chieftaincy  of  the 
Eaphuists  ;  so  Sir  Richard  answered  not,  but  answer  was  made 
iorhim. 


^»'  WESTWARD  NO  i 

••  Since  the  whole  choir  of  Muses,  madam,  have  migrated  to  th» 
Court  of  Whitehall,  no  wonder  if  some  dews  of  Parnassus  should 
fertilize  at  times  even  our  Devon  moors." 

The  speaker  was  a  tall  and  slim  young  man,  some  five-and« 
twenty  years  old,  of  so  rare  and  delicate  a  beauty,  that  it  seemed 
that  some  Greek  statue,  or  rather  one  of  those  pensive  and  pious 
knights  whom  the  old  German  artists  took  delight  to  paint,  hao 
condescended  to  tread  awhile  this  work-day  earth  in  living  flesh 
and  blood.  The  forehead  was  very  lofty  and  smooth,  the  eye- 
brows thin  and  greatly  ar:hed  (the  envious  gallants  whispered 
that  something  at  least  of  their  curve  was  due  to  art,  as  was  also 
the  exceeding  smoothness  of  those  delicate  cheeks).  The  face  was 
somewhat  long  and  thin  ;  the  nose  aquiline  ;  and  the  languid 
mouth  showed,  perhaps,  too  much  of  the  ivory  upper  teeth  ;  but 
the  most  striking  point  of  the  speaker's  appearance  was  the  ex- 
traordinary brilliancy  of  his  complexion,  which  shamed  with  its 
whiteness  that  of  all  fair  ladies  round,  save  where  open  on  each 
cheek  a  bright  red  spot  gave  warning,  as  did  the  long  thin  neck 
and  the  taper  hands,  of  sad  possibilities,  perhaps  not  far  off;  pos- 
sibilities which  all  saw  with  an  inward  sigh,  except  she  whose 
doting  glances,  as  well  as  her  resemblance  to  the  fair  youth,  pro- 
claimed her  at  once  his  mother,  Mrs.  Leigh  herself. 

Master  Frank,  for  he  it  was,  was  dressed  in  the  very  extrava- 
gance of  the  fashion, — not  so  much  from  vanity,  as  from  that  deli- 
cate instinct  of  self-respect  which  would  keep  some  men  spruce  and 
spotless  from  one  year's  end  to  another  upon  a  desert  island  ; 
"  for,"  as  Frank  used  to  say  in  his  sententious  way,  "  Mr.  Frank 
Leigh  at  least  beholds  me,  though  none  else  be  by  ;  and  why 
should  I  be  more  discourteous  to  him  than  I  permit  others  to  be  ? 
be  sure  that  he  who  is  a  Grobian  in  his  own  company,  will,  sooner 
or  later,  become  a  Grobian  in  that  of  his  friends." 

So  Mr.  Frank  was  arrayed  spotlessly  ;  but  after  the  latest 
fashion  of  Milan,  not  in  trunk  hose  and  slashed  sleeves,  no*  in 
"  French  standing  collar,  treble  quadruple  dsedalian  ruff,  oi*  HiifiT- 
necked  rabato,  that  had  more  arches  for  pride,  propped  up  iFnth 
w^re  and  timber,  than  five  London  Bridges  ;  "  but  in  a  close-anting 
and  perfectly  plain  suit  of  dove-color,  which  set  off  cunningly  the 
delicate  proportions  of  his  figure,  and  the  delicate  hue  of  his  com- 
plexion, which  was  shaded  from  the  sun  by  a  broad  dove-colored 
Spanish  hat,  with  feather  to  match,  looped  up  over  the  right  ear 
with  a  pearl  brooch,  and  therein  a  crowned  E,  supposed  by  the 
damsels  of  Bideford  to  stand  for  Elizabeth,  which  was  whispered 
to  be  the  gift  of  some  most  illustrious  hand.  This  same  looping 
up  was  not  without  good  reason  and  purpose  prepense  ;  thereby 
all  the  world  had  full  view  of  a  beautiful  little  ear,  which  looked 
as  if  it  had  been  cut  of  cameo,  and  made,  as  my  Lady  Rich  once 
told  him,  ••  to  hearken  only  to  the  music  of  the  spheres,  or  to  the 
chants  of  cherubim."  Behind  the  said  ear  was  stuck  a  fresh  rose  ; 
and  the  golden  hair  was  all  drawn  smoothly  back  and  round  to 
the  left  temple,  whence,  tied  with  a  pink  ribbon  in  a  great  true 


W£STWA/iD  no  ^  II 

lover's  knot,  a  mighty  love-lock,  "curled  as  it  had  been  laid  !n 
press,**  rolled  down  low  upon  his  bosom.  Oh,  Frank  !  Frank  I 
nave  you  come  out  on  purpose  to  break  the  hearts  of  all  Bideford 
burghers'  daughters  ?  And  if  so,  did  you  expect  to  further  that 
triumph  by  dyeing,  that  pretty  little  pointed  beard  (with  shame  I 
report  it)  of  a  bright  vermilion  ?  But  we  know  you  better,  Frank, 
and  so  does  your  mother  ;  and  you  are  but  a  masquerading  angel 
after  all,  in  spite  of  your  knots  and  your  perfumes,  and  the  golri 
chain  around  your  neck  which  a  German  princess  gave  you  ;  and 
the  emerald  ring  on  your  right  fore-finger  which  Hatton  gave 
you  ;  and  the  pair  of  perfumed  gloves  in  your  left  which  Sidney's 
sister  gave  you  ;  and  the  silver-hilted  Toledo  which  an  Italian 
marquis  gave  you  on  a  certain  occasion  of  which  you  never  choose 
to  talk,  like  a  prudent  and  modest  gentleman  as  you  are  ;  but 
of  which  the  gossips  talk,  of  course,  all  the  more,  and  whisper 
that  you  saved  his  life  from  bravoes — a  dozen,  at  the  least ;  and 
had  that  sword  for  your  reward,  and  might  have  had  his  beautiful 
sister's  hand  beside,  and  I  know  not  what  else  ;  but  that  you  had 
so  many  lady-loves  already  that  you  were  loth  to  burden  yourself 
with  a  fresh  one.  That  at  least,  we  know  to  be  a  lie,_  fair  Frank  ; 
for  your  heart  is  as  pure  this  day  as  when  you  knelt  in  your  little 
crib  at  Burrough,  and  said — 

"  Four  corners  to  my  bed ; 
Four  angels  round  my  head; 
Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and  John, 
Bless  the  bed  that  I  lie  on." 

And  who  could  doubt  it  (if  being  pure  themselves,  they  have 
instinctive  sympathy  with  what  is  pure),  who  ever  looked  into 
those  great  deep  blue  eyes  of  yours  "the  black  fringed  curtains 
of  whose  azure  lids,"  usually  down-dropt  as  if  in  deepest  thought, 
you  raise  slowly,  almost  wonderingly  each  time  you  speak,  as  if 
awakening  from  some  fair  dream  whose  home  is  rather  in  your 
Platonical  "eternal  world  of  supra-sensible  forms,"  than  on  that 
work-day  earth  wherein  you  nevertheless  acquit  yourself  so  well  ? 
There — I  must  stop  describing  you,  or  I  shall  catch  the  infection 
of  your  own  Euphuism,  and  talk  of  you  as  you  would  have  talked 
of  Sidney  or  of  Spenser,  or  of  that  Swan  of  Avon,  whose  song  had 

just  begun  when  yours but  I  will  not  anticipate  ;  my  Lady 

Bath  is  waiting  to  give  you  her  rejoinder, 

"  Ah,  my  silver-tongued  scholar  !  and  are  you,  then,  the  poet  ? 
or  have  you  been  drawing  on  the  inexhaustible  bank  of  your 
friend  Raleigh,  or  my  cousin  Sidney  ?  or  has  our  new  Cygnet 
Immerito  lent  you  a  few  unpublished  leaves  from  some  fresh 
Shepherd's  Calendar  ?  " 

"  Had  either,  madam,  of  that  cynosural  triad  been  within  call 
of  my  most  humble  importunities,  your  ears  had  been  delectate 
with  far  nobler  melody." 

"  But  not  our  eyes  with  fairer  faces,  eh  ?  Well,  you  have  chosen 
y.our  nymphs,  and  had  good  store  from  whence  to  pick,  I  doubt 


40 


WESTWARD  HO  I 


not.  Few  young  Dulcinas  round  but  must  have  been  glad  to  take 
service  under  so  renowned  a  captain  ?  " 

•'  The  only  difficulty,  gracious  Countess,  has  been  to  know 
where  to  fix  the  wandering  choice  of  my  bewildered  eyes,  where 
all  alike  are  fair,  and  all  alike  facund." 

"  We  understand,"  said  she,  smiling  ; — 

"  Dan  Cupid,  choosing  'midst  his  mother's  graces, 
Himself  more  fair,  made  scorn  of  fairest  faces." 

The  young  scholar  capped  her  distich  forthwith,  and  bowing  to 
her  with  a  meaning  look, 

'"Then,  Goddess,  turn,'  he  cried,  'and  veil  thy  H^ht, 
Blinded  by  thine,  what  eyes  can  choose  aright  ?    " 

"  Go,  saucy  sir,"  said  my  lady,  in  high  glee  :  "  the  pageant  stays 
your  supreme  pleasure." 

And  away  went  Mr.  Frank  as  master  of  the  revels,  to  bring  up 
the  'prentices'  pageant  ;  while,  for  his  sake,  the  nymph  of  Tor- 
ridge  was  forgotten  for  awhile  by  all  young  dames,  and  most 
young  gentlemen  :  and  his  mother  heaved  a  deep  sigh,  which 
Lady  Bath  overhearing — 

'♦  What  ?  in  the  dumps,  good  madam,  while  all  are  rejoicing  in 
your  joy  ?  Are  you  afraid  that  we  court-dames  shall  turn  youj 
young  Adonis'  brain  for  him  }  " 

"  I  do,  indeed,  fear  lest  your  condescension  should  make  him 
forget  that  he  is  only  a  poor  squire's  orphan." 

"  I  will  warrant  him  never  to  forget  aught  that  he  should  recol- 
lect," said  my  Lady  Bath. 

And  she  spoke  truly.  But  soon  Frank's  silver  voice  was  heard 
calling  out — 

"  Room  there,  good  people,  for  the  gallant  'prentice  lads  !  " 

And  on  they  came,  headed  by  a  giant  of  buckram  and  paste- 
board armor,  forth  of  whose  stomach  looked,  like  a  clock-face  in 
a  steeple,  a  human  visage,  to  be  greeted,  as  was  the  fashion  then, 
by  a  volley  of  quips  and  puns  from  high  and  low. 

Young  Mr.  William  Gary,  of  Clovelly,  who  was  the  wit  of  those 
parts,  opened  the  fire  by  asking  him  whether  he  were  Goliath, 
Gogmagog,  or  Grantorto  in  the  romance  ;  for  giants'  names  al- 
ways began  with  a  G.  To  which  the  giant's  stomach  answered 
pretty  surlily, — • 

"  Mine  don't  ;  I  begin  with  an  O," 

"  Then  thou  criest  out  before  thou  art  hurt,  O  cowardly  giant  !  " 

"  Let  me  out,  lads,"  quoth  the  irascible  visage,  struggling  in  his 
buckram  prison,  "and  I  soon  show  him  whether  I  be  a  coward." 

"  Nay,  if  thou  gettest  out  of  thyself,  thou  wouldst  be  beside  thy, 
self,  and  so  wert  but  a  mad  giant." 

"  And  that  were  pity,"  said  Lady  Bath  ;  "  for  by  the  romances, 
giants  have  never  overmuch  wit  to  spare." 

"Mercy,  dear  Lady!"  huid  Frank,  "and  let  the  giant  begia 
with  an  O." 


WESTWARD  HO!  4 1 

«( p^ " 

<•  A  false  start,  giant !  you  were  to  begin  with  an  O." 

•'I'll  make  you  end  with  an  O,  Mr.  William  Gary  ! "  roared  the 
testy  tower  of  buckram. 

"  And  so  I  do,  for  I  end  with  '  Fico  ! ' " 

"Be  mollified,  sweet  giant,"  said  Frank,  "and  spare  the  rash 
youth  of  yon  foolish  Knight.  Shall  elephants  catch  flies,  or  Hurlo- 
Thrumbo  stain  his  club  with  brains  of  Dagonet  the  jester  ?  Be 
mollified  ;  leave  thy  caverned  grumblings,  like  Etna  when  its 
windy  wrath  is  past,  and  discourse  eloquence  from  thy  central 
omphalos,  like  Pythoness  ventriloquizing." 

"  If  you  do  begin  laughing  at  me  too,  Mr.  Leigh "  said  the 

giant's  clock-face,  in  a  piteous  tone. 

"  I  laugh  not.  Art  thou  not  Ordulf  the  earl,  and  I  thy  humblest 
squire  ?  Speak  up,  my  Lord  ;  your  cousin,  my  Lady  Bath,  com- 
mands you." 

And  at  last  the  giant  began  : — 

'*  A  giant  I,  Earl  Ordulf  men  me  call, — _ 

'Gainst  Paynim  foes  Devonia's  champion  tall  ; 

In  single  tight  six  thousand  Turks  I  slew ; 

PuU'd  off  a  lion's  head,  and  ate  it  too  : 

With  one  shrewd  blow,  to  let  Saint  Edward  :n, 

I  smote  the  gates  of  Exeter  in  twain  ; 

Till  aged  grown,  by  angels  warn'd  in  dream, 

I  built  an  abbey  fair  by  'J'avy  stream. 

But  treacherous  time  hath  tripped  my  glories  up, 

The  staunch  old  hound  must  yield  to  stauncher  piip  I 

Here's  one  so  tall  as  I,  and  twice  so  bold, 

Where  I  took  only  cuffs,  takes  good  red  gold. 

From  pole  to  pole  resound  his  wondrous  works, 

Who  slew  more  Spaniards  than  I  ere  slew  Turks*, 

I  strode  across  the  Tavy  stream  :  but  he 

Strode  round  the  world  and  back ;  and  here  'a  be  I  " 

•'  Oh,  bathos  !  "  said  Lady  Bath,  while  the  'prentices  shouted 
applause.  "  Is  this  hedgebantling  to  be  fathered  on  you,  Mr. 
Frank  ?  " 

•'  It  is  necessary,  by  all  laws  of  the  drama,  Madam,"  said  Frank, 
with  a  sly  smile,  "that  the  speech  and  the  speaker  shall  fit  each 
other.     Pass  on.  Earl  Ordulf  ;  a  more  learned  worthy  waits." 

Whereon,  up  came  a  fresh  member  of  the  procession  ;  namely, 
no  less  a  person  than  Vindex  Brimblecombe,  the  ancient  school- 
master, with  five-and-forty  boys  at  his  heels,  who  halting,  pulled 
out  his  spectacles,  and  thus  signified  his  forgiveness  of  his  whilom 
broken  head  : — 

••  That  the  world  should  have  been  circumnavigated,  ladies  and 
gentles,  were  matter  enough  of  jubilation  to  the  student  of  Hero- 
dotus and  Plato,  Plinius  and ahem  !  much  more  when  the  cir- 
cumnavigators are  Britons  ;  more,  again,  when  Damnonians." 

"  Don't  swear,  master,"  said  young  Will  Gary. 

"  Gulielme  Gary,  Gulielme  Gary,  hast  thou  forgotten  thy " 

"Whippings  ?  Never,  old  lad  !  Go  on  ;  but  let  not  the  license 
of  the  scholar  overtop  the  modesty  of  the  Ghristian." 


^2  WESTIVARD  NO  t 

"  More  again,  as  I  said,  when,  incola,  inhabitants  of  Devon  • 
but,  most  of  all,  men  of  Bideford  School.  Oh,  renowned  school ! 
Oh,  schoolboys  ennobled  by  fellowship  with  him  !  Oh  most  happy 
pedagogue,  to  whom  it  has  befallen  to  have  chastised  a  circum- 
navigator, and,  like  another  Chiron,  trained  another  Hercules  : 
yet  more  than  Hercules,  for  he  placed  his  pillars  on  the  ocean 
shore,  and  then  returned  ;  but  my  scholar's  voyage " 

"  Hark  how  the  old  fox  is  praising  himself  all  along  on  the  sly," 
said  Gary. 

'•  Mr.  William,  Mr.  William,  peace  \—silentiU7n,  my  graceless 
pupil.  Urge  the  foaming  steed,  and  strike  terror  into  the  rapid 
stag,  but  meddle  not  with  matters  too  high  for  thee." 

"  He  has  given  you  the  dor  now,  sir,"  said  Lady  Bath  ;  "let  the 
old  man  say  his  say." 

•«  I  bring,  therefore,  as  my  small  contribution  to  this  day's  feast ; 
first  a  Latin  epigram,  as  thus " 

"  Latin  ?     Let  us  hear  it  forthwith,"  cried  my  Lady. 

And  the  old  pedant  mouthed  out, — 

"  Torriguiam  Tamaris  ne  speniat ;  Leighius  addet 
Mox  terras  terris,  inclyte  Drake,  tuis." 

"  Neat,  i'  faith,  la  !  "  Whereon  all  the  rest,  as  in  duty  bound, 
approved  also. 

"  This  for  the  erudite  :  for  vulgar  ears  the  vernacular  is  more 
consonant,  sympathetic,  instructive  ;  as  thus  : — 

"  Famed  Argo  ship,  that  noble  chip,  by  doughty  Jason's  steering, 

Brought  back  to  Greece  the  golden  fleece,  from  Colchis  home  careering  ; 
But  now  her  fame  is  put  to  shame,  while  new  Devonian  Argo, 
Round  earth  doth  run  in  wake  of  sun,  and  brings  a  wealthier  cargo." 

••Runs  with  a  right  fa-lal-la,"  observed  Gary  ;  "and  would  go 
nobly  to  a  fiddle  and  a  big  drum." 

''  Ye  Spaniards,  quake  I  our  doughty  Drake  a  royal  swan  is  tested, 

On  wing  and  oar,  from  shore  to  shore,  the  raginjj  main  who  breasted  ^— 
But  never  needs  to  chant  his  deeds,  like  swan  that  lies  a-dying, 
So  far  his  name  by  trump  of  fame,  around  the  sphere  is  flpng. 

"  Hillo  ho  !  schoolmaster  !  "  shouted  a  voice  from  behind  ;  "  move 
dn,  and  make  way  for  Father  Neptune  !  "  Whereon  a  whole  storm 
of  raillery  fell  upon  the  hapless  pedagogue.  _   ^ 

"We  waited  for  the  parson's  alligator,  but  we  warn  t  for 
your'n." 

"  Allegory  !  my  children,  allegory  !  "  shrieked  the  man  of  letters 

"  What  do  ye  call  he  an  alligator  for  ?  He  is  but  a  poor  little 
Starved  evat ! '  t.  ,      j    .  » 

"  Out  of  the  road,  Old  Custis  !     March  on,  Don  Palmado  ! 

These  allusions  to  the  usual  instrument  of  torture  in  west 
country  schools  made  the  old  gentleman  wince  ;  especially  when 
they  were  followed  home  by —  ...        a 

"Who  stole  Adp'rr*!  '^renvile's  brooms,  because  birch  roa« 
were  dear  ?  " 


}V£J^:  TIVARD  HO  ! 


43 


But  proudly  he  shook  his  bald  head,  as  a  bull  shakes  off  the  flies, 
and  returned  to  the  charge  once  more. 

*'  Great  Alexander,  famed  commander,  wept  and  made  a  pother. 
At  conquering  only  half  the  world,  but  Drake  had  conquer'd  t'other  ; 
And  Hercules  to  brink  of  seas  ! " 

«'  Oh  ! " 

And  clapping  both  hands  to  the  back  of  his  neck,  the  school- 
master began  dancing  frantically  about,  while  his  boys  broke  out 
tittering,  "  O  !  the  ochidore  !  look  to  the  blue  ochidore  !  Who've 
put  ochidore  to  maister's  poll  !  " 

It  was  too  true  :  neatly  inserted,  as  he  stooped  forward,  between 
his  neck  and  his  collar,  was  a  large  live  shore-crab,  holding  on 
tight  with  both  hands. 

"Gentles!  good  Christians  !  save  me  !  I  am  mare-rode  !  Incubo, 
vel  ab  incubo,  opprimor  !  Satanas  has  me  by  the  poll  !  Help  ! 
he  tears  my  jugular  ;  he  wrings  my  neck,  as  he  does  to  Dr.  Faustus 
in  the  play.  Cofifiteor  ! — I  confess  !  Satan,  I  defy  thee  !  Good 
people  I  confess  !  Bao-awfi/iat  !  The  truth  will  out.  Mr.  Fran- 
cis Leigh  wrote  the  epigram  !  "  And  diving  through  the  crowd, 
the  pedagogue  vanished  howling,  while  Father  Neptune,  crowned 
with  sea- weeds,  a  trident  in  one  hand,  and  a  live  dog-fish  in  the 
other,  swaggered  up  the  street  surrounded  by  a  tall  bodyguard  of 
mariners,  and  followed  by  a  great  banner,  on  which  was  depicted 
a  globe,  with  Drake's  ship  sailing  thereon  upside  down,  and  over- 
written— 

**  See  every  man  the  Pelican, 

Which  round  the  world  did  go, 
While  her  stem-post  was  uppermost, 
"  •  And  topmasts  down  below. 

And  by  the  way  she  lost  a  day, 

Out  of  her  log  was  stole  ;  ^         ^ 
But  Neptune  kind,  with  favoring  wind. 
Hath  brought  her  safe  and  whole.** 

♦♦  Now,  lads  ! "  cried  Neptune  ;  "  hand  me  my  parable  that's 
writ  for  me,  and  here  goeth  !  "  And  at  the  top  of  his  buU-voicf, 
be  began  roaring, — 

*'  I  am  King  Neptune  bold, 
The  ruler  of  the  seas ; 
I  don't  understand  much  singing  upon  xsmOi 
But  I  hope  what  I  say  will  please. 

•  Here  be  five  Bideford  men. 

Which  have  sail'd  the  world  around, 
And  I  watch'd  them  well,  as  they  all  can  tell, 
And  brought  them  home  safe  and  sound. 

**  For  it  is  the  men  of  Devon. 

To  see  them  I  take  delight,  ,     •     • 

Both  to  tack  and  to  hull,  and  to  heave  and  \01f^ 
And  to  prove  themselves  in  fight. 

•*  Where  be  those  Spaniards  proud. 

That  make  their  valiant  boasts  ; 
And  think  for  to  keep  the  poor  Indians  for  their  sheeft 
And  to  farm  my  golden  coasts  ' 


44  WESTWARD  HO  r 

**  Twas  the  devil  and  the  Pope  gave  them 
My  kingdom  for  their  own  : 
But  my  nephew  Francis  Drake,  he  caused  them  to  quiht^ 
And  he  pick'd  them  to  the  bone. 

**  For  the  sea  my  realm  it  if,  ^ 

As  good  Queen  Bess's  is  the  land  ; 

So  freely  come  again,  all  merry  Devon  meti| 

And  there's  old  Neptune  s  hand." 

**  Holla,  boys  !  holla  !  Blow  up,  Triton,  and  bring  forward  the 
freedom  of  the  seas." 

Triton,  roaring  through  a  conch,  brought  forward  a  cockleshell 
full  of  salt-water,  and  delivered  it  solemnly  to  Amyas,  who,  of 
course,  put  a  noble  into  it,  and  returned  it  after  Grenvile  had  done 
the  same. 

••  Holla,  Dick  Admiral  !  "  cried  Neptune,  who  was  pretty  far 
gone  in  liquor  ;  "  we  knew  thou  hadst  a  right  English  heart  in 
thee,  for  all  thou  standest  there  as  taut  as  a  Don  who  has  swallowed 
his  rapier." 

"  Grammercy,  stop  thy  bellowing,  fellow,  and  on  ;  for  thou 
smellest  vilely  of  fish." 

•*  Everything  smells  sweet  in  its  right  place.     I'm  going  home." 

"  I  thought  thou  wert  there  all  along,  being  already  half-seas 
i»ver,"  said  Gary. 

"  Ay,  right  Upsee-Dutch  ;  and  that's  more  than  thou  ever  wilt 
be,  thou  'long-shore  stay-at-home.  Why  wast  making  sheep's 
eyes  at  Mistress  Salterne  here,  while  my  pretty  little  chuck  of  Bur- 
rough  there  was  playing  at  shove-groat  with  Spanish  doubloons  ?  " 

"  Go  to  the  devil,  sirrah  !  "  said  Gary.  Neptune  had  touched  on 
a  sore  subject ;  and  more  cheeks  than  Amyas  Leigh's  reddened 
at  the  hint. 

"Amen,  if  Heaven  so  please  !"  and  on  rolled  the  monarch  of 
the  seas  ;  and  so  the  pageant  ended. 

The  moment  Amyas  had  an  opportunity,  he  asked  his  brother 
Frank,  somewhat  peevishly,  where  Rose  Salterne  was. 

"  What  !.  the  mayor's  daughter  ?  With  her  uncle  by  Kilkhamp- 
ton,  I  believe." 

Now  cunning  Master  Frank,  whose  daily  wish  was  to  "seek 
peace  and  ensue  it,"  told  Amyas  this,  because  he  must  needs  speak 
the  truth  :  but  he  was  purposed  at  the  same  time  to  speak  as  little 
truth  as  he  could,  for  fear  of  accidents  ;  and,  therefore,  omitted  to 
tell  his  brother  how  that  he,  two  days  before,  had  entreated  Rose 
Salterne  herself  to  appear  as  the  nymph  ofTorridge  ;  which  honor 
she,  who  had  no  objection  either  to  exhibit  her  pretty  face,  to  recite 
pretty  poetry,  or  to  be  trained  thereto  by  the  cynosure  of  North 
Devon  vri  uld  have  assented  willingly,  but  that  her  father  stopped 
the  pretty  project  by  a  peremptory  countermove,  and  packed  her 
off,  in  spite  of  her  tears,  to  the  said  uncle  on  the  Atlantic  cliffs  ; 
after  which  he  went  up  to  Burrough,  and  laughed  over  the  whole 
matter  with  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  I  am  but  a  burgher,  Mrs.  Leigh,  and  you  a  lady  of  blood  ;  but 


WESTWARP  HO  /  45 

I  am  too  proud  to  lei  any  man  say  that  Simon  Salterne  threw  his 
daug^hter  at  your  son's  head  ; — no  ;  not  if  you  were  an  empress  !  '* 

"  And  to  speak  truth,  Mr.  Salterne,  there  are  young  gallants 
enough  in  the  country  quarrelling  about  her  pretty  face  every  day, 
without  making  her  a  tourney-queen  to  tilt  about." 

Which  was  very  true  ;  for  during  the  three  years  of  Amyas's 
absence.  Rose  Salterne  had  grown  into  so  beautiful  a  girl  of  eigh^ 
teen,  that  half  North  Devon  was  mad  about  the  "  Rose  of  Tor" 
ridge,"  as  she  was  called  ;  and  there  was  not  a  young  gallant  for 
ten  miles  round  (not  to  speak  of  her  father's  clerks  and  'pren- 
tices, who  moped  about  after  her  like  so  many  Malvolios,  and 
treasured  up  the  very  parings  of  her  nails)  who  would  not  have 
gone  to  Jerusalem  to  win  her.  So  that  all  along  the  vales  of  Tor- 
ridge  and  of  Taw,  and  even  away  to  Clovelly  (for  young  Mr.  Gary 
was  one  of  the  sick),  not  a  gay  bachelor  but  was  frowning  on  his 
fellows,  and  vieing  with  them  in  the  fashion  of  his  clothes,  the  set 
of  his  ruffs,  the  harness  of  his  horse,  the  carriage  of  his  hawks,  the 
pattern  of  his  sword-hilt ;  and  those  were  golden  days  for  all 
tailors  and  armorers,  from  Exmoor  to  Okehampton  town.  But 
of  all  those  foolish  young  lads  not  one  would  speak  to  the  other, 
either  out  hunting,  or  at  the  archery  butts,  or  in  the  tilt-yard  ;  and 
my  Lady  Bath  (who  confessed  that  there  was  no  use  in  bringing 
out  her  daughters  where  Rose  Salterne  was  in  the  way)  prophe- 
sied in  her  classical  fashion  that  Rose's  wedding  bid  fair  to  be  a 
very  bridal  of  Atlanta,  and  feast  of  the  Lapithae  ;  and  poor  Mr. 
Will  Gary  (who  always  blurted  cut  the  truth),  when  old  Salterne 
once  asked  him  angrily  in  Bideford  Market,  "What  a  plague  busi- 
ness had  he  making  sheep's  eyes  at  his  daughter  ?  "  broke  out  be- 
fore all  bystanders,  "  And  what  a  plague  business  had  you,  old 
boy,  to  throw  such  an  apple  of  discord  into  our  merry-meetings 
hereabouts  ?  If  you  choose  to  have  such  a  daughter,  you  must 
take  the  consequences,  and  be  hanged  to  you."  To  which  Mr. 
Salterne  answered  with  some  truth,  "That  she  was  none  of  his 
choosing,  nor  of  Mr.  Gary's  neither."  And  so  the  dor  bein^  given, 
the  belligerents  parted  laughing,  but  the  war  remained  tn  statu 
quo  ;  and  not  a  week  passed  but,  by  mysterious  hands,  some  nose- 
gay, or  languishing  sonnet,  was  conveyed  into  The  Rose's  cham- 
ber, all  which  she  stowed  away,  with  the  simplicity  of  a  country 
girl,  finding  it  mighty  pleasant  ;  and  took  all  compliments  quietl)) 
enough,  probably  because,  on  the  authority  of  her  mirror,  she  con- 
sidered them  no  more  than  her  due. 

And  now,  to  add  to  the  general  confusion,  home  was  come 
young  Amyas  Leigh,  more  desperately  in  love  with  her  than  ever. 
For,  as  is  the  way  with  sailors  (who  after  all  are  the  truest  lovers, 
as  they  are  the  finest  fellows,  God  bless  them,  upon  earth),  his 
lonely  ship-watches  had  been  spent  in  imprinting  on  his  imagina- 
tion, month  after  month,  year  after  year,  every  feature  and  gesture 
and  tone  of  the  fair  lass  whom  he  had  left  behind  him  ;  and  that 
all  the  more  intensely,  because,  beside  his  mother,  he  had  no  one 
else  to  think  of.  and  was  as  pure  as  the  day  he  was  born,  having 


46  WESTWARD  HOf 

been  trttined  as  many  a  brave  young  man  was  then,  to  look  upon 
profligacy  not  as  a  proot  of  manhood,  but  as  what  the  old  Ger- 
mans, and  those  Gortyneans  who  crowned  the  offender  with  wool, 
knew  it  to  be,  a  cowardly  and  effeminate  sin. 


CHAPTER   III. 

OF  TWO  GENTLEMEN  OF  WALES,  AND  HOW  THEY  HUNTED  WITH 
THE  HOUNDS,  AND  YET  RAN  WITH  THE  DEER. 

"  I  know  that  Bef ormed ;  he  has  been  a  vile  thief  this  seven  years  ;  he  goes  up  and  down 
like  a  gentleman  ;  I  remember  his  name." — Much  Ado  about  Nothing. 

Amyas  slept  that  night  a  tired  and  yet  a  troubled  sleep  ;  and  his 
mother  and  Frank,  as  they  bent  over  his  pillow,  could  see  that  his 
brain  was  busy  with  many  dreams. 

And  no  wonder  ;  for  over  and  above  all  the  excitement  of  the 
day,  the  recollection  of  John  Oxenham  had  taken  strange  possession 
of  his  mind  ;  and  all  that  evening,  as  he  sat  in  the  bay-windowed 
room  where  he  had  seen  him  last,  Amyas  was  recalling  to  himself 
every  look  and  gesture  of  the  lost  adventurer,  and  wondering  at 
himself  for  so  doing,  till  he  retired  to  sleep,  only  to  ren«^^  the 
fancy  in  his  dreams.  At  last  he  found  himself,  he  knew  not  how, 
sailing  westward  ever,  up  the  wake  of  the  setting  sun,  in  chase  of 
a  tiny  sail  which  was  John  Oxenham's.  Upon  him  was  a  painful 
sense  that,  unless  he  came  up  with  her  in  time,  something  fearful 
would  come  to  pass:  but  the  ship  would  not  sail.  All  around 
floated  the  sargasso  beds,  clogging  her  bows  with  their  long  snaky 
coils  of  weed  ;  and  still  he  tried  to  sail,  and  tried  to  fancy  that  bo 
was  sailing,  till  the  sun  went  down  and  all  was  utter  dark.  Aix. 
ihen  the  moon  arose,  and  in  a  moment  John  Oxenham's  ship  was, 
close  aboard  ;  her  sails  were  torn  and  fluttering  ;  the  pitch  v/as' 
streaming  from  her  sides  ;  her  bulwarks  were  rotting  to  de^ay. 
And  what  was  that  line  of  dark  objects  dangling  along  the  rr.iirs 
yard  ? — A  line  of  hanged  men  !  And,  horror  of  horrors,  from  :_ie 
yard-arm  close  above  him,  John  Oxenham's  corpse  looked  down 
with  g-rave-light  eyes,  and  beckoned  and  pointed,  as  if  to  shovv 
him  his  way,  and  strove  to  speak,  and  could  not,  and  pointed  still, 
not  forward,  but  back  along  their  course.  And  when  Amy  • 
lOoked  back,  behold,  behind  him  was  the  snow  range  of  the  Andc: 
glittering  in  the  moon,  and  he  knew  that  he  was  in  the  South  Se:  .. 
once  more,  and  that  all  America  was  between  him  and  hom_. 
And  still  the  corpse  kept  pointing  back,  and  back,  and  looking  p 
him  with  yearning  eyes  of  agony,  and  lips  which  longed  to  tel' 
some  awful  secret  ;  till  he  sprang  up,  and  woke  with  a  shout  o 
terror,  and  found  himself  lying  in  the  little  coved  chamber  in  deai 
old  Burrough,  with  the  gray  autumn  morning  already  stealing  in. 


WESTWARD  HO!  47 

Feverish  and  excited,  he  tried  in  vain  to  sleep  again  -.^^nd  after 
an  hour's  tossing,  rose  and  dressed,  and  started  for  a  bathe  on  his 
beloved  old  pebble  ridge.  As  he  passed  his  mother's  door,  h^ 
could  not  help  looking  in.  The  dim  light  of  morning  showed  him 
the  bed  ;  but  its  pillow  had  not  been  pressed  that  night.  His 
mother,  in  her  long  white  night-dress,  was  kneeling  at  the  other 
end  of  the  chamber  at  her  prie-dieu,  absorbed  in  devotion.  Gently 
he  slipped  in  without  a  word,  and  knelt  down  at  her  side.  She 
turned,  smiled,  passed  her  arm  around  him,  and  went  on  silently 
with  her  prayers.  Why  not  ?  They  were  for  him,  and  he  knew 
it,  and  prayed  also  ;  and  his  prayers  were  for  her,  and  for  poor 
lost  John  Oxenham,  and  all  his  vanished  crew. 

At  last  she  rose,  and  standing  above  him,  parted  the  yellow 
locks  from  off  his  brow,  and  looked  long  and  lovingly  into  his 
face.  There  was  nothing  to  be  spoken,  for  there  was  nothing  to 
be  concealed  between  these  two  souls  as  clear  as  glass.  Each 
knew  all  which  the  other  meant ;  each  knew  that  its  own  thoughts 
were  known.  At  last  the  mutual  gaze  was  over  ;  she  stooped  and 
kissed  him  on  the  brow,  and  was  in  the  act  to  turn  away,  as  a 
tear  dropped  on  his  forehead.  Her  little  bare  feet  were  peeping 
out  from  under  her  dress.  He  bent  down  and  kissed  them  again 
and  again  ;  and  then  looking  up,  as  if  to  excuse  himself, — 

'•  You  have  such  pretty  feet,  mother  !  " 

Instantly,  with  a  woman's  instinct,  she  had  hidden  them,  She 
had  been  a  beauty  once,  as  I  said  ;  and  though  her  hair  was  gray, 
and  her  roses  had  faded  long  ago,  she  was  beautiful  still,  in  all 
eyes  which  saw  deeper  than  the  mere  outward  red  and  white. 

"  Your  dear  father  used  to  say  so  thirty  years  ago." 

"  And  I  say  so  still :  you  always  were  beautiful  ;  you  are  beau- 
tiful now." 

"  What  is  that  to  you,  silly  boy  ?  Will  you  play  the  lover  with 
an  old  mother  ?  Go  aiid  take  your  walk,  and  think  of  younger 
ladies,  if  you  can  find  any  worthy  of  you," 

And  so  the  son  went  forth,  and  the  mother  returned  to  her 
prayers. 

He  walked  down  to  the  pebble  ridge,  where  the  surges  of  the 
bay  have  defeated  their  own  fury,  by  rolling  up  in  the  course  of 
ages  a  rampart  of  gray  boulder-stones,  some  two  miles  long,  as 
cunningly  curved,  and  smoothed,  and  fitted,  as  if  the  work  had 
been  done  by  human  hands,  which  protects  from  the  high  tides  of 
spring  and  autumn  a  fertile  sheet  of  smooth,  alluvial  turf.  Sniff- 
ing the  keen  salt  air  like  a  young  sea-dog,  he  stripped  and  plunged 
into  the  breakers,  and  dived,  and  rolled,  and  tossed  about  the 
foam  with  stalwart  arms,  till  he  heard  himself  hailed  from  off  the 
shore,  and  looking  up,  saw  standing  on  the  top  of  the  rampart  the 
tall  figure  of  his  cousin  Eustace. 

Amyas  was  half-disappointed  at  his  coming  ;  for,  love-lorn  ras- 
cal, he  had  been  dreaming  all  the  way  thither  of  Rose  Salterne, 
and  had  no  wish  for  a  companion  who  would  prevent  his  dream- 
ing of  her   all  the    way  back.     Nevertheless,   not  having   seen 


48  WESTWARD  HO! 

Eustace  for  three  years,  it  was  but  civil  to  scramble  out  and  dress^ 
while  his  cousin  walked  up  and  down  upon  the  turf  inside. 

Eustace  Leigh  was  the  son  of  a  younger  brother  of  Leigh  of 
Burrough,  who  had  more  or  less  cut  himself  off  from  his  family, 
and  indeed  from  his  countrymen,  by  remaining  a  Papist.  True, 
though  born  a  Papist,  he  had  not  always  been  one  ;  for,  like 
many  of  the  gentry,  he  had  become  a  Protestant  under  Edward 
the  Sixth,  and  then  a  Papist  again  under  Mary.  But,  to  his  honor 
be  it  said,  at  that  point  he  had  stopped,  having  too  much  honest, 
to  turn  Protestant  a  second  time,  as  hundreds  did,  at  Elizabeth' 
accession.  So  a  Papist  he  remained,  living  out  of  the  way  of  the 
world  in  a  great,  rambling,  dark  house,  still  called  "  Chapel,"  on 
the  Atlantic  cliffs,  in  Moorwinstow  parish,  not  far  from  Sir  Richard 
Grenvile's  house  of  Stow.  The  penal  laws  never  troubled  him  ; 
for,  in  the  first  place,  they  never  troubeled  any  one  who  did  not 
make  conspiracy  and  rebellion  an  integral  doctrine  of  his  religious 
creed  ;  and  next,  they  seldom  troubld  even  them,  unless,  fired 
with  the  glory  of  martyrdom,  they  bullied  the  long-suffering  of 
Elizabeth  and  her  council  into  giving  them  their  deserts,  and,  like 
poor  Father  Southwell  in  after  years,  insisted  on  being  hanged, 
whether  Burleigh  liked  or  not.  Moreover,  in  such  a  no-man's- 
land  and  end-of-all-the-earth  w^as  that  old  house  at  Moorwinstow, 
that  a  dozen  conspiracies  might  have  been  hatched  there  without 
anyone  hearing  of  it;  and  Jesuits  and  seminary  priests  skulked 
in  and  out  all  the  year  round,  unquestioned  though  unblest ;  and 
found  a  sort  of  piquant  pleasure,  like  naughty  boys  who  have 
crept  into  the  store-closet,  in  living  in  mysterious  little  dens  in  a 
lonely  turret,  and  going  up  through  a  trap-door  to  celebrate  mass 
in  a  secret  chamber  in  the  roof,  where  they  were  allowed  by  the 
powers  that  w^ere  to  play  as  much  as  they  chose  at  persecuted 
saints,  and  preach  about  hiding  in  dens  and  caves  of  the  earth. 
For  once,  when  the  zealous  parson  of  Moorwinstow,  having  dis- 
covered (what  everybody  knew  already)  the  existence  of "  mass 
priests  and  their  idolatry  "  at  Chapel  House,  made  formal  com- 
plaint thereof  to  Sir  Richard,  and  called  on  him,  as  the  nearest 
justice  of  the  peace,  to  put  in  force  the  Act  of  the  fourteenth  of 
Elizabeth,  that  worthy  knight  only  rated  him  soundly  for  a  fan- 
tastical Puritan,  and  bade  fiimmind  his  own  business,  if  he  wished 
not  to  make  the  place  too  hot  for  him  ;  whereon  (for  the  temporal 
authorities,  happily  for  the  peace  of  England,  kept  in  those  days 
a  somewhat  tight  hand  upon  the  spiritual  ones)  the  worthy  parson 
subsided, — for,  after  all,  Mr.  Thomas  Leigh  paid  his  tithes  regu- 
larly enough, — and  was  content,  as  he  expressed  it,  to  bow  liis 
head  in  the  house  of  Rimmon  like  Naaman  of  old,  by  eating  Mr. 
Leigh's  dinners  as  often  as  he  v/as  invited,  and  ignoring  the  voca- 
tion of  old  Father  Francis,  who  sat  opposite  to  him,  dressed  as  a 
iayman,  and  calling  nimself  the  young  gentleman's  pedagoo^ue. 

But  the  said  birds  of  ill-onien  had  a  very  considerable  hen  on 
the  conscience  of  poor  Mr,  Thomas  Leigh,  the  father  of  Eustace, 
'n  the  form  of  certain  lands  once  belonging  to  the  Abbey  of  Hart- 


WESTWARD  not  49 

land.  He  more  than  half  believed  that  he  should  be  lost  for  hold* 
ing  those  lands  ;  but  he  did  not  believe  it  wholly,  and,  therefore, 
he  did  not  give  them  up  ;  which  was  the  case,  as  poor  Mary 
Tudor  found  to  her  sorrow,  with  most  of  her  "  Catholic"  subjects, 
whose  consciences,  while  they  compelled  them  to  return  to  the 
only  safe  fold  of  Mother  Church  {extra  quam  nulla  salus),  by  no 
means  compelled  them  to  disgorge  the  wealth  of  which  they  had 
plundered  that  only  hope  of  their  salvation.  Most  of  them,  how. 
ever,  like  poor  Tom  Leigh,  felt  the  abbey  rents  burn  in  their 
purses  ;  and,  as  John  Bull  generally  does  in  a  difficulty,  com- 
promised the  matter  by  a  second  folly  (as  if  two  wrong  things 
made  one  right  one),  and  petted  foreign  priests,  and  listened,  or 
pretended  not  to  listen,  to  their  plottings  and  their  practisings  ; 
and  gave  up  a  son  here,  and  a  son  there,  as  a  sort  of  a  sin-offer- 
ing and  scapegoat,  to  be  carried  off  to  Douay,  or  Rheims,  or 
Rome,  and  trained  as  a  seminary  priest ;  in  plain  English,  to  be 
taught  the  science  of  villainy,  on  the  motive  of  superstition.  One 
of  such  hapless  scapegoats,  and  children  who  had  been  cast  into 
the  fire  to  Moloch,  was  Eustace  Leigh,  whom  his  father  had  sent, 
giving  the  fruit  of  his  body  for  the  sin  of  his  soul,  to  be  made  a 
liar  of  at  Rheims. 

And  a  very  fair  liar  he  had  become.  Not  that  the  lad  was  a 
bad  fellow  at  heart  ;  but  he  had  been  chosen  by  the  harpies  at 
home,  on  account  of  his  "  peculiar  vocation  ;  "  in  plain  English, 
because  the  wily  priests  had  seen  in  him  certain  capacities  of 
vague  hysterical  fear  of  the  unseen  (the  religious  sentiment,  we 
call  it  nowadays),  and  with  them  that  tendency  to  be  a  rogue, 
which  superstitious  men  always  have.  He  was  now  a  tall,  hand- 
some, light-complexioned  man,  with  a  huge  upright  forehead,, 
a  very  small  mouth,  and  a  dry  and  set  expression  of  face,  which 
was  always  trying  to  get  free,  or  rather  to  seem  free,  and  indulge 
in  smiles  and  dimples  which  were  proper  ;  for  one  ought  to  have 
Christian  love,  and  if  one  had  love  one  ought  to  be  cheerful, 
and  when  people  were  cheerful  they  smiled  ;  and  therefore  he 
would  smile,  and  tried  to  do  so  ;  but  his  charity  prepense  looked 
no  more  alluring  than  malice  prepense  would  have  done  ;  and, 
had  he  not  been  really  a  handsome  fellow,  many  a  woman  who 
raved  about  his  sweetness  would  have  likened  his  frankness  to 
that  of  a  skeleton  dancing  in  fetters,  and  his  smiles  to  the  grins 
thereof. 

He  had  returned  to  England  about  a  month  before,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  proclamation  which  had  been  set  forth  for  that  pur- 
pose ^and  certainly  not  before  it  was  needed),  that  "whosoever 
had  cnildren,  wards,  etc.,  in  the  parts  beyond  the  seas,  should 
send  in  their  names  to  the  ordinary,  and  within  four  months 
call  them  home  again."  So  Eustace  was  now  staying  with  his 
father  at  Chapel,  having,  nevertheless,  his  private  matters  to 
transact  on  behalf  of  the  virtuous  society  by  whom  he  had  been 
brought  up  ;  one  of  which  private  matters  had  brought  him  ta 
Bideford  the  night  befors. 


50  IVES  TWA  RD  HOt 

So  he  sat  down  beside  Amyas  on  the  pebbles,  and  looked  a| 
him  all  over  out  of  the  corners  of  his  eyes  very  gently,  as  if  he 
did  not  wish  to  hurt  him,  or  even  the  flies  on  his  back  ;  and 
Amyas  faced  right  round,  and  looked  him  full  in  the  face,  with 
the  heartiest  of  smiles,  and  held  out  a  lion's  paw  which  Eustace 
took  rapturously,  and  a  great  shaking  of  hands  ensued  ;  Amyas 
gripping  with  a  great  round  fist,  and  a  quiet  quiver  thereof,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  I  am  glad  to  see  you  ;  "  and  Eustace  pinching 
hard  with  quite  straight  fingers,  and  sawing  the  air  violently  up 
and  down,  as  much  as  to  say  "  Don't  you  see  how  glad  I  am  to 
see  you  ?  "     A  very  different  greeting  from  the  former. 

"  Hold  hard,  old  lad,"  said  Amyas,  "  before  you  break  my  elbow. 
And  where  do  you  come  from  ?  " 

"  From  going  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  from  walking  up  and 
do',vn  in  it,"  said  he,  with  a  little  smile  and  nod  of  mysterious  self- 
importance. 

"  Like  the  devil,  eh  ?  Well,  every  man  has  his  pattern.  How 
is  my  uncle  ?  " 

Now,  if  there  was  one  man  on  earth  above  another,  of  whom 
Eustace  Leigh  stood  in  dread,  it  was  his  cousin  Amyas.  In  the 
first  place,  he  knew  Amyas  could  have  killed  him  with  a  blow  ; 
and  there  are  natures,  who,  instead  of  rejoicing  in  the  strength  of 
men  of  greater  prowess  than  themselves,  look  at  such  with  irrita- 
tion, dread,  at  last,  spite  ;  expecting,  perhaps,  that  the  stronger 
will  do  to  them  what  they  feel  they  might  have  done  in  his  place. 
Every  one,  perhaps,  has  the  same  envious,  cowardly  devil  haunt- 
ing about  his  heart ;  but  the  brave  men,  though  they  be  ver}'  spar- 
rows, kick  him  out  ;  the  cowards  keep  him,  and  foster  him  ;  and 
so  did  poor  Eustace  Leigh. 

Next,  he  could  not  help  feeling  that  Amyas  despised  him.  They 
had  not  met  for  three  years  ;  out  before  Amyas  went,  Eustace 
never  could  argue  with  him  ;  simply  because  Amyas  treated  him 
as  beneath  argument.  No  doubt  ne  was  often  rude  and  unfair 
enough  ;  but  the  whole  mass  of  questions  concerning  the  unseen 
world,  which  the  priests  had  stimulated  in  his  cousin's  mind  into 
an  unhealthy  fungus  crop,  were  to  Amyas  simply,  as  he  expressed 
it,  "  wind  and  moonshine  ; "  and  he  treated  his  cousin  as  a  sort  of 
liarmless  lunatic,  and,  as  they  say  in  Devon,  "  half-baked."  And 
Eustace  knew  it ;  and  knew,  too,  that  his  cousin  did  him  an  in- 
justice. "He  used  to  undervalue  me,"  said  he  to  himself;  "  let  us 
see  whether  he  does  not  find  me  a  match  for  him  now."  And 
"hen  went  off  into  an  agony  of  secret  contrition  for  his  self-seeking 
and  his  forgetting  that  "  the  glory  of  God,  and  not  his  own  exalta- 
tion," was  the  object  of  his  existence. 

There,  dear  readers.  Ex  pede  Hcrculem;  I  cannot  tire  myself  for 
you  (especially  in  this  book)  with  any  wire-drawn  soul-dissections. 
I  have  tried  to  hint  to  you  two  opposite  sorts  of  men.  The  one 
tiying  to  be  good  with  all  his  might  and  main,  according  to  cer- 
tain approved  methods  and  rules,  which  he  has  got  by  heart ; 
and    like  a.  weak   oarsman,  feeling   and  fingerings  his   spiritual 


PfTES TWAUD  not  51 

muscles  over  all  day,  to  see  if  they  are  growing.  The  other,  not 
even  knowing  whether  he  is  good  or  not,  but  just  doing  the  right 
thing  without  thinl^ing  about  it,  as  simply  as  a  little  child,  because 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  with  him.  If  you  cannot  seethe  great  gulf 
fixed  between  the  two,  I  trust  that  you  will  discover  it  some  day. 

But  in  justice  be  it  said,  all  this  came  upon  Eustace,  not  because 
he  was  a  Romanist,  but  because  he  was  educated  by  the  Jesuits. 
Had  he  been  saved  from  them,  he  might  have  lived  and  died  as 
simple  and  honest  a  gentleman  as  his  brothers,  who  turned  out 
like  true  Englishmen  (as  did  all  the  Romish  laity)  to  facethegreat 
Armada,  and  one  of  whom  was  fighting  at  that  very  minute  under 
St.  Leger  in  Ireland,  and  as  brave  and  loyal  a  soldier  as  those 
Roman  Catholics  whose  noble  blood  has  stained  every  Crimcean 
battle-field  ;  but  his  fate  was  appointed  otherwise  ;  and  the  Upas- 
shadow  which  has  blighted  the  whole  Romish  Church,  blighted 
him  also. 

"Ah,  my  dearest  cousin  !"  said  Eustace,  "how  disappointed  I 
was  this  morning  at  finding  I  had  arrived  just  a  day  too  late  to 
witness  your  triumph  I  But  I  hastened  to  your  home  as  soon  as  I 
could,  and  learning  from  your  mother  that  I  should  find  you  here, 
hurried  down  to  bid  you  welcome  again  to  Devon." 

"Well,  old  lad,  it  does  look  very  natural  to  see  you.  I  often 
used  to  think  of  you  walking  the  deck  o'  nights.     Uncle  and  the 

firls  are  all  right,  then  }  But  is  the  old  pony  dead  yet  !  And 
ow's  Dick  the  smith,  and  Nancy  "?  Grown  a  fine  maid  by  now, 
I  warrant.     'Slid,  it  seems  half  a  life  that  I've  been  away." 

"  And  vou  really  thought  of  your  poor  cousin?  Be' sure  that 
he,  too,  thought  of  you,  and  offered  up  nightly  his  weak  prayers 
for  your  safety  (doubtless,  not  without  avail)  to  those  saints,  to 
whom  would  that  you " 

"  Halt  there,  coz.  If  they  are  half  as  good  fellows  as  you  and  I 
take  them  for,  they'll  help  me  without  asking." 

"  They  have  helped  you,  Amyas." 

"  Maybe  ;  I'd  have  done  as  much,  I'm  sure,  for  them,  if  I'd  been 
ill  their  place." 

"  And  do  you  not  feel,  then,  that  you  ov/e  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
them  ;  and,  above  all,  to  her,  whose  intercessions  have,  I  doubl 
not,  availed  for  your  preservation  ?  Her,  the  star  of  the  sea,  the 
all-compassionate  guide  of  the  mariner  ?  " 

"  Humph  !  "  said  Amyas.     "  Here's  Frank  ;  let  him  answer." 

And,  as  he  spoke,  up  came  Frank,  and  after  due  greetings,  sat 
down  beside  them  on  the  ridge. 

"  I  say,  brother,  here's  Eustace  trying  already  to  convert  me  ; 
and  telling  me  that  I  owe  all  my  luck  to  the  Blessed  Virgin's 
prayers  for  me." 

"  It  may  be  so,"  said  Frank  ;  "  at  least  you  owe  it  to  the  prayers 
of  that  most  pure  and  peerless  virgin,  by  whose  commands  you 
sailed  ;  the  sweet  incense  of  whose  orisons  have  gone  up  for  you 
daily,  and  for  whose  sake  you  were  preserved  from  flood  and  foe, 
that  you  might  spread  the   fame  and  advance  the  power  of  the 


^2  WESTWARD  BO  ! 

spoLless  championess  of  truth,  and  right,  and  freedoin,— Elizabeth 
your  queen." 

Amyas  answered  this  rhapsody,  which  would  have  been  then 
both  fashionable  and  sincere,  by  a  loyal  chuckle.  Eustace  smiled 
meekly :  but  answered  somewhat  venomously  nevertheless,  ^ 

"  I,  at  least,  am  certain  that  I  spoke  the  truth,  when  1  call  r-».v 
patroness  a  virgin  undefiled." 

Both  the  brothers'  brows  clouded  at  once.  Amyas,  as  he 
lay  on  his  back  on  the  pebbles,  said  quietly  to  the  gulls  over  his 
head, 

"  I  vonder  what  the  Frenchman,  whose  head  I  cut  off  at  the 
Azores,  thinks  by  now  about  all  that." 

"  Cut  off  a  Frenchman's  head  ?  "  said  Frank. 

"  Yes,  faith  ;  and  so  fleshed  my  maiden  sword.  I'll  tell  you. 
U  was  in  some  tavern  ;  I  and  George  Drake  had  gone  in,  and 
there  sat  this  Frenchman,  with  his  sword  on  the  table,  ready  for  a 
quarrel  (I  found  afterwards  he  was  a  noted  bully),  and  begins 
with  us  loudly  enough  about  this  and  that ;  but,  after  awhile,  by 
the  instigation  of  the  devil,  what  does  he  vent  but  a  dozen  slan- 
ders against  her  majesty's  honor,  one  atop  of  ihe  other.  I  was 
ashamed  to  hear  them,  and  I  should  be  more  ashamed  to  repeat 
them." 

"I  have  heard  enough  of  such,"  said  Frank.  "They  come 
mostly  through  lewd  rascals  about  the  French  ambassador,  who 
have  been  bred  (God  help  them)  among  the  filthy  vices  of  that 
Medicean  Court,  in  which  the  Queen  of  Scots  had  her  schooling  ; 
and  can  only  perceive  in  a  virtuous  freedom,  a  cloke  for  licentious- 
ness like  their  own.  Let  the  curs  bark  ;  Ho7ti  soit  qui  mal y pense 
is  our  motto,  and  shall  be  forever." 

."But.  I  didn't  let  the  cur  bark;  for  I  took  him  by  the  ears,  to 
show  him  out  into  the  street.  Whereon  he  got  to  his  sword,  and 
I  to  mine  ;  and  a  very  near  chance  I  had  of  never  bathing  on  the 
pebble-ridge  more;  for  the  fellow  did  not  fight  with  edge  and 
buckler,  like  a  Christian,  but  had  some  newfangled  French  devil's 
device  of  scryming  and  foining  with  his  point,  ha'ing  and  stamp- 
ing, and  tracing  at  me,  that  I  expected  to  be  full  of  eyelet  holes 
ere  I  could  close  with  him," 

"  Thank  God  that  you  are  safe,  then  !  "  said  Frank.  "  I  know 
that  play  well  enough,  and  dangerous  enough  it  is." 

"  Of  course  you  know  it ;  but  I  didn't,  more's  the  pity." 

*'  Well,  I'll  teach  it  thee,  lad,  as  well  as  Rowland  Yorke  himself, 

*  Thy  fincture,  carricade,  and  sly  passata, 
Thy  straraaznn,  and  resolute  stoccata, 
Wiping  maudritta,  c'oang  embrocata, 
And  all  the  cant  of  the  honorable  fencing  mystery.*  " 

**  Rowland  Yorke  ?     Who's  he,  then  ?  " 

"A  very  roystering  rascal,  who  is  making  good  profit  in  London 
just  now  by  teaching  this  very  art  of  fence  ;  and  is  as  likely  to 
nave  his  mortal  thread  dipt  in  a  tavern  brawl,  as  thy  Frenchman. 
But  how  did  you  escape  his  pinking  iron  ?  " 


IVESTIVAUD  HOt  53 

•*  How  ?    Had  it  through  my  left  arm  before  I  could  look  round  ; 

and  at  that  I  got  mad,  and  leapt  upon  him,  and  caught  him  by  the 
wrist,  and  then  had  a  fair  side-blow  ;  and,  as  fortune  would  havft 
it,  off  tumbled  his  head  on  to  the  table,  and  there  was  an  end  of 
his  slanders."  ,  ,  ,   ^ 

"So  perish  all  her  enemies  !  "  said  Frank  ;  and  Eustace,  who 
had  been  trying  not  to  listen,  rose  and  said, 

"  I  trust  that  you  do  not  number  me  among  them  ?  " 

"  As  you  speak  I  do,  coz,"  said  Frank.  "  But  for  your  own 
sake,  let  me  advise  you  to  put  faith  in  the  true  report  of  those  who 
have  daily  experience  of  their  mistress's  excellent  virtues,  as  they 
have  of  the  sun  shining,  and  of  the  earth's  bringing  forth  fruit, 
and  not  in  the  tattle  of  a  few  cowardly  back-stair  rogues,  who 
wish  to  curry  favor  with  the  Guises.  Come,  we  will  say  no 
more.  Walk  round  with  us  by  Appledore,  and  then  home  to 
breakfast."  .  . 

But  Eustace  declined,  having  immediate  business,  he  said,  m 
Northam  town,  and  then  in  Bideford  ;  and  so  left  them  to  lounge 
for  another  half-hour  on  the  beach,  and  then  walk  across  the 
smooth  sheet  of  turf  to  the  little  white  fishing  village,  which  stands 
some  two  miles  above  the  bar,  at  the  meeting  of  the  Torridge  and 
the  Taw. 

Now  it  came  to  pass,  that  Eustace  Leigh,  as  we  have  seen,  told 
his  cousins  that  he  was  going  to  Northam  :  but  he  did  not  tell 
them  that  his  point  was  really  the  same  as  their  own,  namely, 
Appledore  ;  and,  therefore,  after  having  satisfied  his  conscience 
by  going  as  far  as  the  very  nearest  house  in  Northam  village,  he 
struck  away  sharp  to  the  left  across  the  fields,  repeating  I  know 
not  what  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  all  the  way  ;  whereby  he  went 
several  miles  out  of  his  road  ;  and  also,  as  is  the  wont  of  crooked 
spirits,  Jesuits  especially  (as  three  centuries  sufficiently  testify), 
only  outwitted  himself.  For  his  cousins  going  merrily,  like  honest 
men,  along  the  straight  road  across  the  turf,  arrived  in  Appledore. 
opposite  the  little  "  Mariner's  Rest"  Inn,  just  in  ;time  to  see  what 
Eustace  had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  hide  from  them,  namely, 
four  of  Mr.  Thomas  Leigh's  horses  standing  at  the  door,  held  by 
his  groom,  saddles  and  mailbags  on  back,  and  mounting  three  of 
them,  Eustace  Leigh  and  two  strange  gentlemen. 

"There's  one  lie  already  this  niorning,"  growled  Amyas  ;  "he 
told  us  he  was  going  to  Northam." 

"  And  we  do  not  know  that  he  has  not  been  there,"  blandly  sug- 
gested Frank. 

"  Why,  you  are  as  bad  a  Jesuit  as  he,  to  help  him  out  with  such 
a  fetch." 

"  He  may  have  changed  his  mind." 

"Bless  your  pure  imagination,  my  sweet  boy,"  said  Amyas, 
laying  his  great  hand  on  Frank's  head,  and  mimicking  his  mother's 
manner.  "  I  say,  dear  Frank,  let's  step  into  this  shop  and  buy  a 
pennyworth  of  whipcord.  ' 

*'  What  do  you  want  with  whipcord,  man  ?  " 


C4  WESTWARD  HO! 

"Tg  spin  my  top,  to  be  sure." 
••  Top*?  how  long  hast  had  a  top  ?  " 

"I'll  bu)'-  one,  then,  and  save  my  conscience  ;  but  the  upshot  ol 
this  sport  1  must  see.  Why  may  not  I  have  an  excuse  ready  made 
as  well  as  Master  Eustace  ?  " 

So  saying,  he  pulled  Frank  into  the  little  shop,  unobserved  by 
the  party  at  the  inn  door. 

"  What  strange  cattle  has  he  been  importing  now  ?  Look  at 
that  three-legged  fellow,  trying  to  get  aloft  on  the  wrong  side. 
How  he  claws  at  his  horse's  ribs,  like  a  cat  scratching  an  elder 
stem  ! " 

The  three  legged  man  was  a  tall,  meek-looking  person,  who 
had  bedizened  himself  with  gorgeous  garments,  a  great  feather, 
and  a  sword  so  long  and  broad,  that  it  differed  little  in  size  from 
the  very  thin  and  stiff  shanks  between  which  it  wandered  uncom- 
fortably. 

•«  Young  David  in  Saul's  weapons,"  said  Frank.  "  He  had  better 
not  go  in  them,  for  he  certainly  has  not  proved  them." 

*•  Look,  if  his  third  leg  is  not  turned  into  a  tail  !  Why  does  not 
some  one  in  charity  haul  in  half-a-yard  of  his  belt  for  him  t  " 

It  was  too  true  ;'the  sword,  after  being  kicked  out  three  or  four 
times  from  its  uncomfortable  post  between  his  legs,  had  returned 
unconquered  ;  and  the  hilt  getting  a  little  too  far  back  by  reason 
(>f  the  too  great  length  of  the  belt,  the  weapon  took  up  its  post 
triumphantly  behind,  standing  out  point  in  air,  a  tail  confest,  amid 
the  tittering  of  the  ostlers,  and  the  cheers  of  the  sailors. 

At  last  the  poor  man,  by  dint  of  a  chair,  was  mounted  safely, 
while  his  fellow-stranger,'  a  burly,  coarse-looking  man,  equally 
gay,  and  rather  more  handy,  made  so  fierce  a  rush  at  his  saddle, 
that,  like  "  vaulting  ambition  who  o'erleaps  his  selle,"  he  "  fell  on 
t'other  side  :"  or  would  have  fallen,  had  he  not  been  brought  up 
short  by  the  shoulders  of  the  ostler  at  his  off-stirrup.  In  which 
shock  off  came  hat  and  feather. 

"  Pardie.  the  bulldog-faced  one  is  a  fighting  man.  Dost  see, 
Frank  ?  he  has  had  his  head  broken." 

"  That  scar  came  not,  my  son,  but  by  a  pair  of  most  Catholic 
and  apostolic  scissors.  My  gentle  buzzard,  that  is  a  priest's  ton- 
sure." 

"  Hang  the  dog  !  O,  that  the  sailors  may  but  see  it,  and  put 
him  over  the  quay  head.  I've  a  half  mind  to  go  and  do  it  my- 
self." 

*'  My  dear  Amyas,"  said  Frank,  laying  two  fingers  on  his  arm, 
"  these  men,  whosoever  they  are,  are  the  guests  of  our  uncle,  and 
therefore  the  guests  of  our  family.  Ham  gained  little  by  pub- 
lishing Noah's  shame  ;  neither  shall  we,  by  publishing  our 
uncle's." 

"  Murrain  on  you,  old  Franky,  you  never  let  a  man  speak  his 
mind  and  shame  the  devil." 

"  1  have  lived  long  enough  in  courts,  oV  Amyas,  without  a 
murrain  on  you,  to  have  found  out  first  that  it  is  not  so  easy  ta 


WESTIVAKD  HO! 


55 


ihame  taa  aevif ;  and  secondly,  that  it  is  better  to  outwit  him  ; 
and  the  only  way  to  do  that,  sweet  chuck,  is  very  often  not  to 
speak  your  mind  at  all.  We  will  go  down  and  visit  them  at  Chapel 
in  a  day  or  two,  and  see  if  we  cannot  serve  these  reynards  as  the 
badger  did  the  fox,  when  he  found  him  in  his  hole,  and  could  not 
get  him  out  by  evil  savors." 

"  How  then  ?  " 

"  Stuck  a  sweet  nosegay  in  the  door,  which  turned  Reynard's 
stomach  at  once  ;  and  so  overcame  evil  with  good." 

"  Well,  thou  art  too  good  for  this  world,  that's  certain  ;  so  we 
will  go  home  to  breakfast.  Those  rogues  are  out  of  sight  by 
now." 

Nevertheless,  Amyas  was  not  proof  against  the  temptation  of 
going  over  to  the  inn-door,  and  asking  who  were  the  gentlemen 
who  went  with  Mr.  Leigh. 

"  Gentlemen  of  Wales,"  said  the  ostler,  "  who  came  last  night 
in  a  pinnace  from  Milford-haven,  and  their  names,  Mr.  Morgan 
Evans  and  Mr.  Evan  Morgans." 

"  Mr.  Judas  Iscariot  and  Mr.  Iscariot  Judas,"  said  Amyas  be- 
tween his  teeth,  and  then  observed  aloud,  "  that  the  Welsh  gentle- 
men seemed  rather  poor  horsemen." 

'•  So  I  said  to  Mr.  Leigh's  groom,  your  worship.  But  he  says 
that  those  parts  be  so  uncommon  rough  and  mountainous,  that 
the  poor  gentlemen,  you  see,  being  enforced  to  hunt  on  foot,  have 
no  such  opportunities  as  young  gentlemen  hereabout,  like  your 
worship  ;  whom  God  preserve,  and  send  a  virtuous  lady,  and  one 
worthy  of  you." 

"  Thou  hast  a  villainously  glib  tongue,  fellow  !  "  said  Amyas, 
who  was  thoroughly  out  of  humor  ;  "  and  a  sneaking  down  visage 
too,  when  I  come  to  look  at  you.  I  doubt  but  you  are  a  Papist 
too,  I  do  !  " 

•'  Well,  sir  !  and  what  if  I  am  !  I  trust  I  don't  break  the  queen's 
laws  by  that.  If  I  don't  attend  Northam  church,  I  pay  my  month's 
shilling  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  as  the  Act  directs  ;  and  beyond 
that,  neither  you  nor  any  man  dare  demand  of  me." 

•*  Dare  !  Act  directs  !  You  rascally  lawyer,  you  !  and  whence 
does  an  ostler  like  you  get  your  shilling  to  pay  withal  1  Answer 
me."  The  examinate  found  it  so  difficult  to  answer  the  question, 
that  he  suddenly  became  afflicted  with  deafness. 

•*  Do  you  hear  ?  "  roared  Amyas,  catching  at  him  with  his  lion's 
paw. 

"  Yes,  missus  ;  anon,  anon,  missus  !  "  quoth  he  to  an  imaginary 
landlady  inside,  and  twisting  under  Amyas's  hand  like  an  eel, 
vanished  into  the  house,  while  Frank  got  the  hot-headed  youth 
away. 

'*  What  a  plague  is  one  to  do,  then  ?  That  fellow  was  a  Papist 
spy ! " 

"Of  course  he  was  !  "  said  Frank. 

"  Then,  what  is  one  to  do,  if  the  whole  country  is  full  of  them  ?" 


^  WESTWARD  Hot 

*•  Not  to  make  fools  of  ourselves  about  them  ;  and  so  leave  them 
lo  make  fools  of  themselves." 

"  That's  all  very  fine  :  but — well,  I  shall  remember  the  villain's 
face  if  I  see  him  again." 

"  There  is  no  harm  in  that,"  said  Frank. 

"'Glad  you  think  so." 

"  Don't  quarrel  with  me,  Arrfyas,  the  first  day." 

"  Quarrel  with  thee,  my  darling  old  fellow  !  I  had  sooner  kiss 
the  dust  off  thy  feet,  if  I  were  worthy  of  it.  So  now  away  home  ; 
my  inside  cries  cupboard." 

In  the  meanwhile  Messrs.  Evans  and  Morgans  were  riding 
away,  as  fast  as  the  rough  by-lanes  would  let  them,  along  the  fresh 
coast  of  the  bay,  steering  carefully  clear  of  Northam  town  on  the 
one  hand,  and  on  the  other,  of  Portledge,  where  dwelt  that  most 
Protestant  justice  of  the  peace,  Mr.  Coffin.  And  it  was  well  for 
them  that  neither  Amyas  Leigh,  or  indeed  any  other  loyal  Eng- 
lishman, was  by  when  they  entered,  as  they  shortly  did,  the  lonely 
woods  which  stretch  along  the  southern  wall  of  the  bay.  For 
there  Eustace  Leigh  pulled  up  short  ;  and  both  he  and  his  groom, 
leaping  from  their  horses,  knelt  down  humbly  in  the  wet  grass, 
and  implored  the  blessing  of  the  two  valiant  gentlemen  of  Wales, 
who  having  graciously  bestowed  it  with  three  fingers  apiece,  be- 
came thenceforth  no  longer  Morgan  Evans  and  Evan  Morgans, 
Welshmen  and  gentlemen  ;  but  Father  Parsons  and  Father  Cam- 
plan,  Jesuits,  and  gentlemen  in  no  sense  in  which  that  word  is  ap- 
plied in  this  book. 

After  a  few  minutes,  the  party  were  again  in  motion,  ambling 
steadily  and  cautiously  along  the  high  table-land,  towards  Moor- 
winstow  in  the  west  ;  while  beneath  them  on  the  right,  at  the 
mouth  of  rich-wooded  glens,  opened  vistas  of  the  bright  blue  bay, 
and  beyond  it  the  sandhills  of  Braunton,  and  the  ragged  rocks  of 
Morte  ;  while  far  away  to  the  north  and  west  the  lonely  isle  of 
Lundy  hung  like  a  soft  gray  cloud. 

But  they  were  not  destined  to  reach  their  point  as  peaceably  as 
they  could  have  wished.  For  just  as  they  got  opposite  Clovelly 
Dike,  the  huge  old  Roman  encampment  which  stands  about  mid' 
way  in  their  journey,  they  heard  a  halloo  from  the  valley  below, 
answered  by  a  fainter  one  far  ahead.  At  which,  like  a  couple  of 
rogues  (as  indeed  they  were),  Father  Campian  and  Father  Parsons 
looked  at  each  other,  and  then  both  stared  round  at  the  wild,  des- 
olate, open  pasture  (for  the  country  was  then  all  unenclosed),  and 
the  great  dark  furze-grown  banks  above  their  heads  ;  and  Campian 
remarked  gently  to  Parsons,  that  this  was  a  very  dreary  spot,  and 
likely  enough  for  robbers. 

"  A  likelier  spot  for  us.  Father,"  said  Eustace,  punning.  "  The 
old  Romans  knew  what  they  were  about  when  they  put  their  legions 
up  aloft  here  to  overlook  land  and  sea  for  miles  away  ;  and  we 
.may  thank  them  some  day  for  their  leavings.  The  banks  are  all 
sound  ;  there  is  plenty  of  good  water  inside  ;  and  "  (added  he  in 
Latin),  *•  In  case  our  Spanish  friends — you  understand  ?  " 


WESTIVARD  ffOt  jy 

**Pauca  verba,  my  son  !  "  said  Campian  :  but  as  lie  spoke,  up 
from  the  ditch  close  beside  him,  as  if  rising  out  of  the  earth,  burst 
through  the  furze  bushes  an  armed  cavalier. 

*♦  Pardon,  gentlemen  !  "  shouted  he,  as  the  Jesuit  and  his  horse 
recoiled  against  the  groom.     "  Stand  for  your  lives  !  " 

"Mater  coelorum  !"  moaned  Campian  :  while  Parsons,  who,  as 
all  the  world  knows,  was  a  blustering  buHy  enough  (at  least  with 
his  tongue),  asked  :  "  What  a  murrain  right  had  he  to  stop  hon- 
est folks  on  the  queen's  highway  ?  "  confirming  the  same  with  a 
mighty  oath,  which  he  set  down  d,s  peccatum  veniale,  on  account 
of  the  sudden  necessity  ;  nay,  indt^dfraus  pia,  as  proper  to  sup- 
port the  character  of  that  valiant  gentlemen  of  Wales,  Mr.  Evan 
Morgans.  But  the  horseman,  taking  no  notice  of  his  hint,  dashed 
across  the  nose  of  Eustace  Leigh's  horse,  with  a  "  Hillo,  old  lad  ! 
where  ridest  so  early  ?  "  and  peering  down  for  a  moment  into  the 
ruts  of  the  narrow  track-way,  struck  spurs  into  his  horse,  shout- 
ing, "  A  fresh  slot  !  right  away  for  Hartland  !  Forward,  gentle- 
men all  !  follow,  follow,  follow  !  " 

"  Who  is  this  roysterer  ?  "  asked  Parsons,  loftily. 

"  Will  Gary,  of  Clovelly  ;  an  awful  heretic  :  and  here  come  more 
behind." 

And  as  he  spoke  four  or  five  more  mounted  gallants  plunged 
in  and  out  of  the  great  dikes,  and  thundered  on  behind  the  party; 
whose  horses,  quite  understanding  what  game  was  up,  burst  into 
full  gallop,  neighing  and  squealing  ;  and  in  another  minute  the 
hapless  Jesuits  were  whirling  along  over  moor  and  moss  after  a 
"  hart  of  grease." 

Parsons,  who,  though  a  vulgar  bully,  was  no  coward,  supported 
the  character  of  Mr.  Evan  Morgans  well  enough  ;  and  he  would 
have  really  enjoyed  himself,  had  he  not  been  in  agonies  of  fear 
lest  those  precious  saddle-bags  in  front  of  him  should  break  from 
their  lashings,  and  rolling  to  the  earth,  expose  to  the  hoofs  of 
heretic  horses,  perhaps  to  the  gaze  of  heretic  eyes,  such  a  cargo  of 
bulls,  dispensations,  secret  correspondences,  seditious  tracts,  and 
so  forth,  that  at  the  very  thought  of  their  being  seen,  his  head  felt 
loose  upon  his  shoulders.  But  the  future  martyr  behind  him,  Mr. 
Morgan  Evans,  gave  himself  up  at  once  to  abject  despair,  and  as 
he  bumped  and  rolled  along,  sought  vainly  for  comfort  in  profes- 
sional ejaculations  in  the  Latin  tongue. 

"  Mater  intemerata  !  Eripe  me  e — Ugh  !  I  am  down  !  Ad- 
hcssit pavimento  venter  ! — No  !  I  am  not !  Et  dilectum  tuum  e 
potestate  canis — Ah  !  Audisti  me  inter  cornua  u7ticornium ! 
Put  this,  too,  down  in — ugh  ! — thy  account  in  favor  of  my  poor — 
oh,  sharpness  of  this  saddle  !     Oh  whither,  barbarous  islanders  !" 

Now  riding  on  his  quarter,  not  in  the  rough  track-way  like  a 
cockney,  but  through  the  soft  heather  like  a  sportsman,  was  a  very 
gallant  knight  whom  we  all  know  well  by  this  time,  Richard  Gren- 
vile  by  name  ;  who  had  made  Mr.  Gary  and  the  rest  his  guests  the 
night  before,  and  then  ridden  out  with  them  at  five  o'clock  that 
morning,  after  the  wholesome  early  ways  of  the  time,  to  rouse  %. 


jS-r  WESTWARD  HOt 

H-ell-kno\vn  stag^  in  the  glens  at  Buckish,  by  help  of  Mr.  Coffin's 
hounds  from  Portledge.  Who  being  as  good  a  Latiner  as  Cam- 
pian's  self,  and  overhearing  both  the  scraps  of  psalm  and  the 
"  barbarous  islanders,"  pushed  his  horse  alongside  of  Mr.  Eustace 
Leio-h,  and  at  the  first  check  said,  with  two  low  bows  towards 
the  two  strangers — 

"I  hope  Mr.  Leigh  will  do  me  the  honor  of  introducing  me  to 
his  guests.  I  should  be  sorry,  and  Mr.  Car)'  also,  that  any  gentle 
strangers  should  become  neighbors  of  ours,  even  for  a  day,  with- 
out our  knowing  who  they  are  who  honor  our  western  Thule  with 
a  visit  ;  and  showing  them  ourselves  all  due  requital  for  the  com- 
pliment of  their  presence." 

After  which,  the  only  thing  which  poor  Eustace  could  do  (espe- 
cially as  it  was  spoken  loud  enough  for  all  bystanders),  was  to  in- 
troduce in  due  form  Mr.  Evan  Morgans  and  Mr.  Morgan  Evans, 
who,  hearing  the  name,  and  what  was  worse,  seeing  the  terrible 
face  with  its  quiet  searching  eye,  felt  like  a  brace  of  partridge 
poults  cowering  in  the  stubble,  with  a  hawk  hanging  ten  feet  over 
their  heads. 

••Gentlemen,"  said  Sir  Richard  blandly,  cap  in  hand  ;  "  I  fear 
that  your  mails  must  have  been  somewhat  in  your  way  in  this  un- 
expected gallop.  If  you  will  permit  my  groom,  who  is  behind,  to 
disencumber  you  of  them  and  carry  them  to  Chapel,  you  will  both 
confer  an  honor  on  me,  and  be  enabled  yourselves  to  see  the  mort 
more  pleasantly." 

A  twinkle  of  fun,  in  spite  of  all  his  efforts,  played  aboutgood  Sir 
Richard's  eye  as  he  gave  this  searching  hint.  The  two  Welsh 
gentlemen  stammered  out  clumsy  thanks  ;  and  pleading  great 
haste  and  fatigue  from  a  long  journey,  contrived  to  fall  to  the 
rear,  and  vanish  with  their  guides,  as  soon  as  the  slot  had  been 
recovered. 

"  Will  !  "  said  Sir  Richard,  pushing  alongside  of  young  Cary, 

"  Your  worship  ?  " 

"Jesuits,  Will  !" 

"  Maythe  father  of  lies  fly  away  with  them  over  the  nearest  cliff!  " 

"  He  will  not  do  that  while  'this  Irish  trouble  is  about.  Those 
fellows  are  come  to  practise  here  for  Saunders  and  Desmond." 

"  Perhaps  they  have  a  consecrated  banner  in  their  bag,  the 
scoundrels  !  Shall  I  and  young  Coffin  on  and  stop  them  ?  Hard 
if  the  honest  men  may  not  rob  the  thieves  once  in  a  way." 

"  Xo  ;  give  the  devil  rope,  and  he  will  hang  himself.  Keep  thy 
:ongue  at  home,  and  thine  eyes  too.  Will." 

"  How  then  }  " 

"  Let  Clovelly  beach  be  watched  night  and  day  like  any  mouse- 
hole.  No  one  can  land  round  Harty  Point  with  these  south- 
westers.  Stop  every  fellow  who  has  the  ghost  of  an  Irish  brogue, 
come  he  in  or  go  he  out,  and  send  him  over  to  me." 

"Some  one  should  guard  Bude-haven,  sir." 

"Leave  that  to  me.  Now  then,  torward,  gentlemen  all,  or  the 
stag  will  take  the  sea  at  the  Abbey." 


WESTWARD  HO  f  59 

And  on  they  crashed  down  the  Hartland  glens,  through  the  oak- 
scrub  and  the  great  crown-ferns  ;  and  the  baying  of  the  slow-hound 
and  the  tantaras  of  the  horn  died  away  farther  and  fainter  toward 
the  blue  Atlantic,  while  the  conspirators,  with  lightened  hearts, 
pricked  fast  across  Bursdon  upon  their  evil  errand.     But  Eustace 
Leigh  had  other  thoughts   and   other  cares  than  the  safety  of  his 
father's  two  mysterious  guests,  important  as  that  was  in  his  eyes  ; 
for  he  was  one  ofthe  many  who  had  drunk  in  sweet  poison  (though 
\\\  his  case  it  could  hardly  be  called  sweet)  from  the  magic  glances 
of  the  Rose  of  Torridge.     He  had  seen  her  in  the  town,  and  for  the 
first  time  in  his  life   fallen  utterly  in  love  ;  and   now  that  she  had 
come  down  close  to  his  father's  house,  he  looked  on  her  as  a  lamb 
fallen  unawares  into  the  jaws  ofthe  greedy  wolf,  which  he  felt  him- 
self to  be.     For  Eustace's  love  had  little  or  nothing  of  chivalry, 
self-sacrifice,  or  purity  in  it ;  those  were  virtues  which  were  not 
taught  at  Rheims.     Careful  as  the  Jesuits  were  over  the  practical 
morality  of  their  pupils,  this  severe  restraint  had  little  effect  in  pro- 
ducing real  habits  of  self-control.     What  little  Eustace  had  learnt 
of  women  from  them,  was  as  base  and  vulgar  as  the  rest  of  their 
teaching.     What  could  it  be  else,  if  instilled  by  men  educated  in 
the  schools  of  Italy  and  France,  in  the  age  which  produced  the 
foul  novels  of  Cinthio  and  Bandello,  and  compelled  Rabelais  in 
order  to  escape  the  rack  and  stake,  to  hide  the  light  of  his  great 
wisdom,   not  beneath   a   bushel,   but  beneath    a  dunghill  ;    the 
age   in  which  the  Romish  Church  had  made  marriage  a  legal- 
ized tyranny,  and  the  laity,  by  a  natural  and  pardonable  revul- 
sion, had  exalted  adultery  into   a  virtue  and   a   science  ?     That 
all  love  was  lust  ;  that  all  women  had  their  price  ;  that  profligacy, 
though  an  ecclesiastical  sin,  was  so  pardonable,  if  not  necessary, 
as  to  be  hardly  a  moral  sin,  were  notions  which  Eustace  must  needs 
have  gathered  from  the  hints  of  his  preceptors  ;  for  their  written 
works  bear  to  this  day  fullest  and  foulest  testimony  that  such  was 
their  opinion  ;  and  that  their  conception  ofthe  relation  ofthe  sexes 
was  really  not  a  whit  higher  than  that  of  the  profligate  laity  who 
confessed  to  them.     He  longed  to  marry  Rose  Salterne,  with  a  v/ild 
selfish  fury  ;  but  only  that  he  might  be  able  to  claim  her  as  his  own 
property,  and  keep  all  others  from  her.     Of  her  as  a  co-equal  and 
ennobling  helpmate  ;  as   one  in  whose  honor,  glory,  growth  of 
heart  and  soul,  his  own  were  inextricably  wrapt  up,  he  had  never 
dreamed.     Marriage  would  prevent  God  from  being  angry  with 
that,  with  which  otherwise  He  might  be  angry ;  and  therefore  the 
sanction  ofthe  Church  was  the  more  "  probable  and  safe"  course. 
But  as  yet  his  suit  was  in  very  embryo.     He  could  not  even  tell 
whether  Rose  knew  of  his  love  ;  and  he  wasted  miserable  hours  in 
maddening  thoughts,  and  tost  all  night  upon  his  sleepless  bed,  and 
rose  next  morning   fierce  and    pale,  to   invent  fresh  excuses  for 
goirvg  over  to  her  uncle's  house,  and  lingering  about  the  Iruit 
wdiich  he  dared  not  snatch. 


^  WESTWARD  HO  i 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  TWO  WAYS   OF  BEING  CROST  IN  LOVE. 

"  I  could  »ot  love  thee,  dear,  so  much, 
Loved  I  not  honor  moie." — Lovklack. 

And  what  all  this  while  has  become  of  the  fair  breaker  of  so 
many  hearts,  to  whom  I  have  not  yet  even  introduced  my  readers  ? 

She  was  sitting-  in  the  little  farm-house  beside  the  mill,  buried  in 
the  green  depths  of  the  Valley  of  Combe,  half-way  between  Stow 
and  Chapel,  sulking  as  much  as  her  sweet  nature  would  let  her,  at 
being  thus  shut  out  from  all  the  grand  doings  at  Bideford,  and 
forced  to  keep  a  Martinmas  Lent  in  that  far  western  glen.  So  lonely 
was  she,  in  fact,  that  though  she  regarded  Eustace  Leigh  with 
somewhat  of  aversion,  and  (being  a  good  Protestant)  with  a  great 
deal  of  suspicion,  she  could  not  tind  it  in  her  heart  to  avoid  a  chat 
with  him  whenever  he  came  down  to  the  farm  and  to  its  mill, 
which  he  contrived  to  do,  on  I  know  not  what  would-be  errand, 
almost  every  day.  Her  uncle  and  aunt  at  first  looked  stiff  enough 
at  these  visits,  and  the  latter  took  care  always  to  make  a  third  in 
every  conversation  ;  but  still  Mr.  Leigh  was  a  gentleman's  son, 
and  it  would  not  do  to  be  rude  to  a  neighboring  squire  and  a  good 
customer  ;  and  Rose  was  the  rich  man's  daughter  and  they  poor 
cousins,  so  it  would  not  do  either  to  quarrel  with  her  ;  and  besides, 
the  pretty  maid,  half  by  wilfulness,  and  half  by  her  sweet  winning 
tricks,  generally  contrived  to  get  her  own  w'ay  wheresoever  she 
went ;  and  she  herself  had  been  wise  enough  to  beg  her  aunt  never 
to  leave  them  alone, — for  she  "could  not  a-bear  the  sight  of  Mr. 
Eustace,  only  she  must  have  some  one  to  talk  with  down  here." 
On  which  her  aunt  considered,  that  she  herself  was  but  a  simple 
country-woman  ;  and  that  townsfolks'  ways  of  course  must  be 
very  different  from  hers  ;  and  that  people  knew  their  own  busi- 
ness best  ;  and  so  forth,  and  let  things  go  on  their  own  way. 
Eustace,  in  the  meanwhile,  who  knew  well  that  the  difference  in 
creed  between  him  and  Rose  was  likely  to  be  the  very  hardest  ob- 
stacle in  the  way  of  his  love,  took  care  to  keep  his  private  opinions 
well  in  the  background  ;  and  instead  of  trying  to  convert  the  folk 
at  the  mill,  daily  bought  milk  or  flour  from  them,  and  gave  it 
away  to  the  old  women  in  Moorwinstow  (who  agreed  that  after  all, 
for  a  Papist,  he  was  a  godly  young  man  enough)  ;  and  at  last, 
having  taken  counsel  with  Campian  and  Parsons  on  certain  politi- 
cal plots  then  on  foot,  came  with  them  to  the  conclusion  that  they 
would  all  three  go  to  church  the  next  Sunday.  Where  Messrs. 
Evan    Morgans   and   Morgan    Evans,    havinfj   crammed   up   th^ 


WESTWARD  Hot  fH 

rubrics  beforehand,  behaved  themselves  in  a  most  orthodox  and 
unexceptionable  manner  ;  as  did  also  poor  Eustace,  to  the  great 
wonder  of  all  good  folks,  and  then  went  home  flattering  himselt 
that  he  had  taken  in  parson,  clerk,  and  people  ;  not  knowing  in 
his  simple  unsimplicity,  and  cunning  foolishness,  that  each  good 
wife  in  the  parish  was  saying  to  the  other,  "  He  turned  Protestant  ? 
The  devil  turned  monk  !  He's  only  after  Mistress  Salterne,  the 
young  hypocrite." 

But  if  the  two  Jesuits  found  it  expedient,  for  the  holy  cause  m 
which  they  were  embarked,  to  reconcile  themselves  outwardly  to 
the  powers  that  were,  they  were  none  the  less  busy  in  private  in 
plotting  their  overthrow. 

Ever  since  April  last  they  had  been  playing  at  hide-and-seek 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  England,  and  now  they  were 
only  lying  quiet  till  expected  news  from  Ireland  should  give  them 
their  cue,  and  a  great  "  rising  of  the  West"  should  sweep  from 
her  throne  that  stiff-necked,  persecuting,  excommunicate,  repro- 
bate, illegitimate,  and  profligate  usurper,  who  falsely  called  her- 
self the  Oueen  of  England. 

For  they  had  as  stoutly  persuaded  themselves  in  those  days,  as 
they  have  in  these  (with  a  real  Baconian  contempt  of  the  results 
of  sensible  experience),  that  the  heart  of  England  was  really  with 
them,  and  that  the  British  nation  was  on  the  point  of  returning  t  / 
the  bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  giving  up  Elizabeth  to  ije 
led  in  chains  to  the  feet  of  the  rightful  Lord  of  Creation,  the  Old 
Man  of  the  Seven  Hills.  And  this  fair  hope,  which  has  been  skip- 
ping just  in  front  of  them  for  centuries,  always  a  step  farther  off, 
like  the  place  where  the  rainbow  touches  the  ground,  they  used  to 
announce  at  times,  in  language  which  terrified  old  Mr.  Leigh. 
One  day,  indeed,  as  Eustace  entered  his  father's  private  room, 
after  his  usual  visit  to  the  mill,  he  could  hear  voices  high  in  dis- 
pute ;  Parsons  as  usual,  blustering  ;  Mr.  Leigh  peevishly  depre- 
cating," and  Campian,  who  was  really  the  sweetest-natured  of  men, 
trying  to  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  Whereat  Eustace  (for 
the  good  of  the  cause,  of  course)  stopped  outside  and  listened. 

"  My  excellent  sir,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  "  does  not  your  very  pres- 
ence here  show  howl  am  affected  toward  the  holy  cause  of  the 
Catholic  faith  ?  But  I  cannot  in  the  meanwhile  forget  that  I  am 
an  Englishman." 

"  And  what  is  England  ?  "  said  Parsons  :  "  A  heretic  and  schis- 
matic Babylon,  whereof  it  is  written,  *  Come  out  of  her,  my  people, 
lest  you  be  partaker  of  her  plagues.'  Yea,  what  is  a  country  ? 
An  arbitrary  division  of  territory  by  the  princes  of  this  world,  who 
are  nought,  and  come  to  nought.  They  are  created  by  the  people's 
will  ;  their  existence  depends  on  the  sanction  of  him  to  whom  all 
power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth— our  Holy  Father  the  Pope. 
Take  away  the  laUer,  and  what  is  a  king  ?— the  people  who  hava 
made  him  may  unmake  him." 

"  My  dear  sir,  recollect  that  I  have  sworn  allegiance  to  Queen 
Elizabeth  ! " 


<J2=  WESTWARD  HO  I 

'*  Yes,  sir,  you  have,  sir  ,-  and,  as  I  have  shown  at  large  in  my 
writings,  you  were  absolved  from  that  allegiance  from  the  mo* 
ment  that  the  bull  of  Pius  the  Fifth  declared  her  a  heretic  and  ex- 
communicate, and  thereby  to  have  forfeited  all  dominion  whatso- 
ever. I  tell  you,  sir,  what  I  thought  you  should  have  known 
already,  that  since  the  year  1569,  England  has  had  no  queen,  no 
magistrates,  no  laws,  no  lawful  authority  whatsoever  ;  and  that 
to  own  allegiance  to  any  English  magistrate,  sir,  or  to  plead  in  an 
English  court  of  law,  is  to  disobey  the  apostolic  precept,  '  How 
dare  you  go  to  law  before  the  unbelievers  ?  '  I  tell  you,  sir,  re- 
bellion is  now  not  merely  permitted,  it  is  a  duty." 

♦'  Take  care,  sir  ;  for  God's  sake,  take  care  !  "  said  Mr.  Leigh. 
*'  Right  or  wrong,  I  cannot  have  such  language  used  in  my  house 
For  the  sake  of  my  wife  and  children,  I  cannot !  " 

"  My  dear  brother  Parsons,  deal  more  gently  with  the  flock," 
interposed  Campian.  "  Your  opinion,  though  probable,  as  I  well 
know,  in  the  eyes  of  most  of  our  order,  is  hardly  safe  enough 
here  ;  the  opposite  is  at  least  so  safe  that  Mr.  Leigh  may  well  ex- 
cuse his  conscience  for  accepting  it.  After  all,  are  we  not  sent 
hither  to  proclaim  this  very  thing,  and  to  relieve  the  souls  of  good 
Catholics  from  a  burden  which  has  seemed  to  them  too  heavy  .''  " 

"Yes,"  said  Parsons  half-sulkily,  "to  allow  all  Balaams  who 
will  to  sacrifice  to  Baal,  while  they  call  themselves  by  the  name  of 
t.he  Lord." 

"  My  dear  brother,  have  I  not  often  reminded  you  that  Naaman 
was  allowed  to  bow  himself  in  the  house  of  Rimmon  ?  And 
can  we  therefore  complain  of  the  office  to  which  the  Holy  Father 
has  appointed  us,  to  declare  to  such  as  Mr.  Leigh  his  especial 
^■race,  by  which  the  bull  of  Pius  the  Fifth  (on  whose  soul  God 
n'-2  mercy  !)  shall  henceforth  bind  the  queen  and  the  heretics 
only ;  but  in  no  ways  the  Catholics,  at  least  as  long  as  the  present 
._,ranny  prevents  the  pious  purposes  of  the  bull  ?  " 

"  Be  it  so,  sir  ;  be  it  so.  Only  observe  this,  Mr.  Leigh,  that 
our  brother  Campian  confesses  this  to  be  a  tyranny.  Observe, 
Gir,  that  the  bull  does  still  bind  the  so-called  queen,  and  that  she 
and  her  magistrates  are  still  none  the  less  usurpers,  nonentities, 
and  shadows  of  a  shade.  And  observe  this,  sir,  that  when  that 
which  is  lawful  is  excused  to  the  weak,  it  remains  .no  less  lawful 
to  the  strong.  The  seven  thousand  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to 
Baal  did  not  slay  his  priests  ;  but  Elijah  did,  and  won  to  himself 
a  good  reward.  And  if  the  rest  of  the  children  of  Israel  sinned 
not  in  not  slaying  Eglon,  yet  Ehud's  deed  was  none  the  less  justi- 
fied by  all  laws  human  and  divine." 

"  For  Heaven's  sake,  do  not  talk  so,  sir  !  or  I  must  leave  the 
room.  What  have  I  to  do  with  Ehud  and  Eglon,  and  slaughters, 
and  tyrannies  ?  Our  queen  is  a  very  good  queen,  if  Heaven 
would  but  grant  her  repentance,  and  turn  her  to  the  true  faith. 
I  "have  never  been  troubled  about  religion,  nor  any  one  else  that  I 
know  of  in  the  West  country," 

•'  You  forget  Mr.  Trudgeon  of  Launccston,  father,  and   poof 


WESTWARD  HO  /  63 

Father  Mayne,"  interposed  Eustace,  who  had  by  this  time  slipped 
in  ;  and  Campian  added  softly—  ,  ,      . 

"Yes,  your  West  of  England  also  has  been  honored  by  its 
martyrs,  as  well  as  my  London  by  the  precious  blood  of  Story." 

"  What,  young  malapert  ? "  cried  poor  Leigh,  facing  round 
upon  his  son,  glad  to  find  any  one  on  whom  he  might  vent  his 
ill-humor  ;  "  are  you  too  against  me,  with  a  murrain  on  you  ? 
And  pray,  what  the  devil  brought  Cuthbert  Mayne  to  the  gallows, 
and  turned  Mr.  Trudgeon  (he  was  always  a  foolish  hot-head)  out 
of  house  and  home,  but  just  such  treasonable  talk  as  Mr.  Parsons 
must  needs  hold  in  my  house,  to  make  a  beggar  of  me  and  my 
children,  as  he  will  before  he  has  done." 

"  The  blessed  Virgin  forbid  !  "  said  Campian. 
*'  The  blessed  Virgin  forbid  ?  But  you  must  help  her  to  forbid 
it,  Mr.  Campian.  We  should  never  have  had  the  law  of  1571. 
against  bulls,  and  Agnus  Deis,  and  blessed  grains,  if  the  Pope's 
bull  of  1569  had  not  made  them  matter  of  treason,  by  preventmg 
a  poor  creature's  saving  his  soul  in  the  true  Church  without  put- 
ting  his  neck  into  a  halter  by  denying  the  queen's  authority." 

"  What,  sir  ?  '  almost  roared  Parsons,  "  do  you  dare  to  speak 
evil  of  the  edicts  of  the  Vicar  of  Christ  ?  " 

"  I  ?  No.  I  didn't.  Who  says  I  did  ?  All  I  meant  was,  I  am 
sure— Mr.  Campian,  you  are  a  reasonable  man,  speak  for  me." 

"  Mr.  Leigh  only  meant,  I  am  sure,  that  the  Holy  Father's  pru- 
dent  intentions  have  been  so  far  defeated  by  the  perverseness  and 
invincible  misunderstanding  of  the  heretics,  that  that  which  was 
in  itself  meant  for  the  good  of  the  oppressed  English  Catholics  has 
been  perverted  to  their  harm." 

"  And  thus,  reverend  sir,"  said  Eustace,  glad  to  get  into  hi» 
father's  good  graces  again,  "  my  father  attaches  blame,  not  to 
the  Pope— Heaven  forbid  '.—but  to  the  pravity  of  his  enemies. 

"And  it  is  for  this  very  reason,"  said  Campian,  "that  we  have 
brought  with  us  the  present  merciful  explanation  of  the  bull." 

"  ril  tell  you  what,  gentlemen,"  said  Mr.  Leigh,  who,  like  other 
weak  men,  grew  in  valor  as  his  opponent  seemed  inclined  to  make 
peace,  "  I  don't  think  the  declaration  was  needed.  After  the  nevv 
law  of  1 571  was  made,  it  was  never  put  in  force  till  Mayne  and 
Trudgeon  made  fools  of  themselves,  and  that  was  full  six  years. 
There  were  a  few  offenders,  they  say,  who  were  brought  up  and 
admonished,  and  let  go  ;  but  even  that  did  not  happen  down  here, 
and  need  not  happen  now,  unless  you  put  my  son  here  (for  vou 
shall  never  put  me,  I  warrant  you)  upon  some  deed  which  had 
better  be  left  alone,  and  so  bring  us  all  to  shame." 

"  Your  son,  sir,  if  not  openly  vowed  to  God,  has,  I  hope,  a  due 
sense  of  that  inward  vocation  which  we  have  seen  in  him,  and  rev- 
erences his  spiritual  fathers  too  well  to  listen  to  the  temptations 
of  his  earthly  father." 

"  What,  sir,  will  you  teach  my  son  to  disobey  me  ? 

"Your  son  is  ours  also,  sir.     This  is  strange  language  in  one 


04 


WESTWARD  HO! 


who  owes  a  debt  to  the  Church,  which  it  was  charitably  fancied  h^ 

meant  to  pay  in  the  person  of  his  child." 

These  last  words  touched  poor  Mr.  Leigh  in  a  sore  point,  and 
breaking  all  bounds,  he  swore  roundly  at  Parsons,  who  stoo4 
foaming  with  rage. 

"  A  plague  upon  you,  sir,  and  a  black  assizes  for  you,  for  you 
will  come  to  the  gallows  yet  !  Do  you  mean  to  taunt  me  in  my 
own  house  with  that  Hartland  land  ?  You  had  better  go  back 
and  ask  those  who  sent  you  where  the  dispensation  to  hold  the 
land  is,  which  they  promised  to  get  me  years  ago,  and  have  gone 
on  putting  me  off,  till  they  have  got  my  money,  and  my  son,  and  my 
conscience,  and  I  vow  before  all  the  saints,  seem  now  to  want  my 
head  over  and  above.  God  help  me  !  " — and  the  poor  man's  eyes 
fairly  filled  with  tears. 

Now  was  Eustace's  turn  to  be  roused  ;  for,  after  all,  he  was  an 
Englishman  and  a  gentleman  ;  and  he  said  kindly  enough,  but 
firmly — 

"Courage,  my  dearest  father.  Remember  that  I  am  still  your 
son,  and  not  a  Jesuit  yet ;  and  whether  I  ever  become  one  I  promise 
you,  will  depend  mainly  on  the  treatment  which  you  meet  with  at 
the  hands  of  these  reverend  gentlemen,  for  whom  I,  as  having 
brought  them  hither,  must  consider  myself  as  surety  to  you." 

If  a  powder-barrel  had  exploded  in  the  Jesuits'  faces,  they  could 
not  have  been  more  amazed.  Campian  looked  blank  at  Parsons, 
and  Parsons  at  Campian  ;  till  the  stouter-hearted  of  the  two,  re- 
covering his  breath  at  last — 

*'  Sir  1  do  you  know,  sir,  the  curse  pronounced  on  those  who, 
after  putting  their  hand  to  the  plough,  look  back  t  " 
.  Eustace  was  one  of  those  impulsive  men,  with  a  lack  of  moral 
courage,  who  dare  raise  the  devil,  but  never  dare  fig[ht  him  after 
he  had  been  raised  ;  and  he  now  tried  to  pass  off  his  speech  by 
•winking  and  making  signs  in  the  direction  of  his  father,  as  much 
as  to  say  that  he  was  only  trying  to  quiet  the  old  man's  fears.  ^  But 
Campian  was  too  frightened,  Parsons  too  angry,  to  take  his  hints  : 
and  he  had  to  carry  his  part  through. 

"  All  I  read  is,  Father  Parsons,  that  such  are  not  fit  for  the  king- 
dom of  God  ;  of  which  high  honor  I  have  for  some  time  past  felt 
myself  unworthy.  I  have  much  doubt  just  now  as  to  my  vocation  ; 
and  in  the  meanwhile  have  not  forgotten  that  I  am  a  citizen  of  a 
free  country."  And  so  saying,  he  took  his  father's  arm,  and 
walked  out. 

His  last  words  had  hit  the  Jesuits  hard.  They  had  put  the  poor 
cobweb-spinners  in  mind  of  the  humiliating  fact,  which  they  have 
had  thrust  on  them  daily  from  that  time  till  now,  and  yet  have  never 
learnt  the  lesson,  that  all  their  scholastic  cunning,  plotting,  intrigu- 
ing, bulls,  pardons,  indulgences,  and  the  rest  of  it,  are,  on  this 
side  of  the  Channel,  a  mere  enchanter's  cloud-castle  and  Fata  Mor- 
gana, which  vanishes  into  empty  air  by  one  touch  of  that  magic 
wand,  the  constable's  staff.     "  A  citizen  of  a  free  country  !  " — there 


IVESTIVARD  Hot  5$ 

•vas  the  rub  ;  and  they  looked  at  each  other  in  more  utter  per- 
plexity than  ever.     At  last  Parsons  spoke. 

"There's  a  woman  in  the  wind.  I'll  lay  my  life  on  it.  I  saw 
him  blush  up  crimson  yesterday  when  his  mother  asked  him 
Vvhether  some  Rose  Salterne  or  other  was  still  in  the  neighbor- 
hood." 

"  A  woman  !  Well  the  spirit  may  be  willing,  though  the  flesh 
be  weak.  We  will  inquire  mto  this.  The  youth  may  do  us  good 
service  as  a  layman  ;  and  if  anything  should  happen  to  his  elder 
brother  (whom  the  saints  protect  !)  he  is  heir  to  some  wealth.  In 
the  meanwhile,  our  dear  brother  Parsons  will  perhaps  see  the  ex- 
pediency of  altering  our  tactics  somewhat  while  we  are  here. 

And  thereupon  a  long  conversation  began  between  the  two,  who 
had  been  sent  together,  after  the  wise  method  of  their  order,  in 
obedience  to  the  precept,  "Two  are  better  than  one,"  in  order  that 
Campian  might  restrain  Parsons'  vehemence,  and  Parsons  spur  on 
Campian's  gentleness,  and  so  each  act  as  the  supplement  of  the 
other,  and  each  also,  it  must  be  confessed,  gave  advice  pretty 
nearly  contradictory  to  his  fellow's  if  occasion  should  require, 
*'  without  the  danger,"  as  their  writers  have  it,  "  of  seeming 
changeable  and  inconsistent." 

The  upshot  of  this  conversation  was,  that  in  a  day  or  two  (dur- 
ing which  time  Mr.  Leigh  and  Eustace  also  had  made  the  amende 
honorable,  and  matters  went  smoothly  enough)  Father  Campian 
asked  Father  Francis  the  household  chaplain  to  allow  him,  as  an 
especial  favor,  to  hear  Eustace's  usual  confession  on  the  ensuing 
Friday. 

Poor  Father  Francis  dared  not  refuse  so  great  a  man  ;  and  as- 
sented with  an  inward  groan,  knowing  well  that  the  intent  was  to 
worm  out  some  family  secrets,  whereby  his  power  would  be  di- 
minished, and  the  Jesuits'  increased.  For  the  regular  priesthood 
and  the  Jesuits  throughout  England  were  toward  each  other  in  a 
state  of  armed  neutrality,  which  wanted  but  little  at  any  moment 
to  become  open  war,  as  it  did  in  James  the  First's  time,  when 
those  meek  m.issionaries,  by  their  gentle  moral  tortures,  literally 
hunted  to  death  the  poor  Popish  bishop  of  Hippopotamus  (that  is 
to  say,  London)  for  the  time  being. 

However,  Campian  heard  Eustace's  confession  ;  and  by  putting 
to  him  such  questions  as  may  be  easily  conceived  by  those  who 
know  anything  about  the  confessional,  discovered  satisfactorily 
enough,  that  he  was  what  Campian  would  have  called  "  in  love  :  " 
though  I  should  question  much  the  propriety  of  the  term  as  ap- 
plied to  any  facts  which  poor  prurient  Campian  discovered,  or  in- 
deed knew  how  to  discover,  seeing  that  a  swine  has  no  eye  for 
pearls.  But  he  had  found  out  enough  :  he  smiled,  and  set  to  work 
next  vigorously  to  discover  who  the  lady  might  be. 

It  he  had  frankly  said  to  Eustace,  "  I  feel  for  you  ;  and  if  your 
desires  are  reasonable,  or  lawful,  or  possible,  I  will  help  you  with 
all  my  heart  and  soul,"  he  might  have  had  the  young  man's  secret 
heart,  and  saved  himself  an  hour's  trouble  ;  but,  of  course,  he  took 


(^  WESTWARD  HO  I 

instinctively  the  crooked  and  suspicious  method,  expected  to  find 
the  case  the  worst  possible,— as  a  man  was  bound  to  do  who  had 
been  trained  to  take  the  lowest  possible  view  of  human  nature, 
and  to  consider  the  basest  motives  as  the  mainspring  of  all  human 
action, — and  began  his  moral  torture  accordingly  by  a  series  of 
delicate  questions,  which  poor  Eustace  dodged  in  every  possible 
way,  though  he  knew  that  the  good  father  was  too  cunning  for 
him,  and  that  he  must  give  in  at  last.  Nevertheless,  like  a  rabbit 
who  runs  squealing  round  and  round  before  the  weasel,  into  whose 
jau's  it  knows  that  it  must  jump  at  last  by  force  of  fascination,  he 
parried  and  parried,  and  pretended  to  be  stupid,  and  surprised, 
and  honorably  scrupulous,  and  even  angry  ;  while  every  question 
as  to  her  being  married  or  single,  Catholic  or  heretic,  English  or 
foreign,  brought  his  tormentor  a  step  nearer  the  goal.  At  last, 
when  Campian,  finding  the  business  not  such  a  very  bad  one,  had 
asked  something  about  her  worldly  wealth,  Eustace  saw  a  door 
of  escape  and  sprang  at  it. 

"  Even  if  she  be  a  heretic,  she  is  heiress  to  one  of  the  wealthiest 
merchants  in  Devon."  . 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Campian  thoughtfully.     "  And  she  is  but  eighteen, 
you  say  ?  " 

"  Only  eighteen." 

"  Ah  !  well,  my  son,  there  is  time.     She  may  be  reconciled  to 
the  Church  :  or  you  may  change." 
"  I  shall  die  first." 

"  Ah,  poor  lad  !     Well  ;  she  may  be  reconciled,  and  her  wealth 
may  be  of  use  to  the  cause  of  Heaven." 

"  And  it  shall  be  of  use.     Only  absolve  me,  and  let  me  be  at 
peace.     Let  me  have  but  her,"  he  cried  piteously.     "  I  do  not  want 

iier  wealth, not  I  !     Let  me  have  but  her,  and  that  but  for  one 

year,  one  month,  one  day  !— and  all  the  rest,— money,  fame,  talents, 
yea,  my  life  itself,  hers  if  it  be  needed,— are  at  the  service  of  Holy 
Church.  Ay,  I  shall  glory  in  showing  my  devotion  by  some  special 
sacrifice,— some  desperate  deed.  Prove  me  now,  and  see  what 
there  is  I  will  not  do  ! "  ,  .  ,    ^        .  ,  ,    , 

And  so  Eustace  was  absolved  ;  after  which  Campian  added,— 
"  This  is  indeed  well,  my  son  :  for  there  is  a  thing  to  be  done 
now,  but  it  may  be  at  the  risk  of  life." 
"  Prove  me  !  "  cried  Eustace  impatiently. 

«'  Here  is  a  letter  which  was  brought  me  last  night  ;  no  matter 
from  whence  ;  you  can  understand  it  better  than  I,  and  I  longed 

lo  have  shown  it  you,  but  that  I  feared  my  son  had  become " 

"You  feared  wrongly,  then,  my  dear  Father  Campian." 
So  Campian  translated  to  him  the  cipher  of  the  letter. 
-  This  to  Evan  Morgans,  gentleman,  at  Mr.  Leigh's  house  in 
Moorwinstow,  Devonshire.  News  may  be  had  by  one  who  will 
go  to  the  shor^  of  Clovelly,  any  evening  after  the  25th  of  Novem- 
ber, at  dead  low  tide,  and  there  watch  for  a  boat,  rowed  by  one 
with  a  red  beard,  and  a  Portugal  by  his  speech.  If  he  be  asked, 
'How  many  ? '  he  will  answer,   '  Eight  hundred  and  one.     Tak« 


WESTWARD  HOt  67 

Bis  letters  artd  read  them.  If  the  shore  be  watched,  let  him  who 
comes  show  a  light  three  times  in  a  safe  place  under  the  clifi 
above  the  town  ;  below  is  dangerous  landing.  Farewell,  and  ex- 
pect great  things  !  " 

"  1  will  go,"  said  Eustace  ;  "  to-morrow  is  the  25th,  and  I  know 
a  sure  and  easy  place.  Your  Iriend  seems  to  know  these  shores 
well." 

"  Ah  !  what  is  it  we  do  not  know  ?  "  said  Campian,  with  a  mys- 
iSei-ious  smile.     "  And  now  ?  " 

"  And  now,  to  prove  to  you  how  I  trust  to  you,  you  shall  come 
with  me,  and  see  this — the  lady  of  whom  I  spoke,  and  judge  for 
yourself  whether  my  fault  is  not  a  venial  one." 

"  Ah,  my  son,  have  I  not  absolved  you  already  ?  What  have  I 
to  do  with  fair  faces  ?  Nevertheless,  I  will  come,  both  to  show 
you  that  I  trust  you,  and  it  may  be  to  help  towards  reclaiming  a 
heretic,  and  saving  a  lost  soul :  who  knows  t  " 

So  the  two  set  out  together  ;  and,  as  it  was  appointed,  they  had 
just  got  to  the  top  of  the  hill  between  Chapel  and  Stow  mill,  when 
up  the  lane  came  none  other  than  Mistress  Rose  Salterne  herself, 
in  all  the  glories  of  a  new  scarlet  hood,  from  under  which  her  large 
dark  languid  eyes  gleamed  soft  lightnings  through  poor  Eustace's 
neart  and  marrow.  Up  to  them  she  tripped  on  delicate  ankles 
and  tiny  feet,  tall,  lithe,  and  graceful,  a  true  West-country  lass  ; 
and  as  she  passed  them  with  a  pretty  blush  ani  courtesy,  even 
Campian  looked  back  at  the  fair  innocent  creature,  whose  long 
dark  curls,  after  the  then  country  fashion,  rolled  down  from  be- 
neath the  hood  below  her  waist,  entangling  the  soul  of  Eustace 
Leigh  within  their  glossy  nets. 

"  There  !  "  whispered  he,  trembling  from  head  to  foot.  "  Can 
you  excuse  me  now  ?  " 

"  I  had  excused  you  long  ago,"  said  the  kind-hearted  father. 
-  Alas,  that  so  much  fair  red  and  white  should  have  been  created 
only  as  a  feast  for  worms  I  " 

"  A  feast  for  gods  you  mean  !  "  cried  Eustace,  on  whose  com- 
mon sense  the  naYve  absurdity  of  the  last  speech  struck  keenly  ; 
and  then,  as  if  to  escape  the  scolding  which  he  deserved  for  his 
heathenry, — 

"  Will  you  let  me  return  lor  a  moment  ?  I  will  follow  you  :  let 
me  go!  * 

Campian  saw  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  say  no,  and  nodded. 
Eustace  darted  from  his  side,  and  running  across  a  field,  met 
Rose  full  at  the  next  turn  of  the  road. 

She  started,  and  gave  a  pretty  little  shriek. 

•'  Mr.  Leigh  !     I  thought  you  had  gone  forward." 

"I  came  back  to  speak  to  you,  Rose — Mistress  Salterne,  I 
mean." 

"  To  me  ? 

"  To  you  I  must  speak,  tell  you  all,  or  die  !  "  And  he  pressed 
up  c'ose'  to  her.     She  shrank  back  somewhat  frightened. 

"  D  )  not  stir  ;  do  not  go,  I  implore  you  !     Rose,  only  hear  me  ■  " 


6  8  WESTWARD  HO  t 

And  fiercely  and  passionately  seizing  her  by  the  hand,  he  poured 
out  the  whole  story  of  his  love,  heaping  her  with  every  fantastic 
epithet  of  admiration  which  he  could  devise. 

There  was  little,  perhaps,  of  all  his  words  which  Rose  had  not 
heard  many  a  time  before  ;  but  there  was  a  quiver  in  his  voice 
and  a  fire  in  his  eye,  from  which  she  shrank  by  instinct. 

"  Let  me  go  !  "  she  said  ;  "  you  are  too  rough,  sir  !  " 

"  Ay  !  "  he  said,  seizing  now  both  her  hands,  "  rougher,  per- 
haps, than  the  gay  gallants  of  Bideford,  who  serenade  you,  and 
write  sonnets  to  you,  and  send  you  posies.  Rougher,  but  more 
loving,  Rose  !  Do  not  turn  away  !  I  shall  die  if  you  take  your 
eyes  off  me  !  Tell  me, — tell  me,  now  here — this  moment — before 
we  part — if  I  may  love  you  !  " 

"Go  away  !  "  she  answered,  struggling,  and  bursting  into  tears. 
••  This  is  too  rude.  If  I  am  but  a  merchant's  daughter,  I  am 
God's  child.  Remember  that  I  am  alone.  Leave  me ;  go  !  or  I 
will  call  for  help  !  " 

Eustace  had  heard  or  read  somewhere  that  such  expressions 
in  a  woman's  mouth  were  mere  famous  de  parler,  and  on  the 
whole,  signs  that  she  had  no  objection  to  be  alone,  and  did  not 
intend  to  call  for  help  ;  and  he  only  grasped  her  hands  the  more 
fiercely,  and  looked  into  her  face  with  keen  and  hungry  eyes  ;  but 
she  was  in  earnest,  nevertheless,  and  a  loud  shriek  made  him 
aware  that,  if  he  wished  to  save  his  own  good  name,  he  must  go  : 
but  there  was  one  question,  for  an  answer  to  which  he  would  risk 
his  very  life. 

"  Yes,  proud  woman  !  I  thought  so  !  Some  one  of  those  gay 
gallants  has  been  beforehand  with  me.     Tell  me  who " 

But  she  broke  from  him,  and  passed  him,  and  fled  down  the 
lane. 

"  Mark  it  ! "  cried  he,  after  her.  "  You  shall  rue  the  day  when 
you  despised  Eustace  Leigh  !  Mark  it,  proud  beauty  !  "  And  he 
turned  back  to  join  Campian,  who  stood  in  some  trepidation. 

•'  You  have  not  hurt  the  maiden,  my  son  ?  I  thought  I  heard  a 
scream." 

"  Hurt  her  !  No.  Would  God  that  she  were  dead,  nevertheless, 
and  I  by  her  !  Say  no  more  to  me,  father.  We  will  home."  Even 
Campian  knew  enough  of  the  world  to  guess  what  had  happened, 
and  they  both  hurried  home  in  silence. 

And  so  Eustace  Leigh  played  his  move,  and  lost  it. 

Poor  little  Rose,  having  run  nearly  to  Chapel,  stopped  for  very 
shame,  and  walked  quietly  by  the  cottages  which  stood  opposite 
the  gate,  and  then  turned  up  the  lane  towards  Moorwinstow  village, 
whither  she  was  bound.  But  on  second  thoughts,  she  felt  herself 
so  "  red  and  flustered,"  that  she  was  afraid  of  going  into  the  vil- 
lage, for  fear  (as  she  said  to  herself)  of  making  people  talk,  and  so, 
turning  into  a  by-path,  struck  away  toward  the  cliffs,  to  cool  her 
blushes  in  the  sea-breeze.  And  there  finding  a  quiet  grassy  nook 
/)eneath  the  crest  of  the  rocks,  she  sat  down  on  the  turf,  and  fell 
into  a  great  medita.ion. 


IVESriyAIiD  HO  t  69 

Rose  Salteme  was  a  thorough  specimen  of  a  West-coast  maiden, 
5faH  of  passionate  impulsive  affections,  and  wild  dreamy  imagi- 
nations, a  fit  subject,  as  the  North-Devon  women  are  still,  for  all 
romantic  and  gentle  superstitions.  Left  early  without  a  mother's 
care,  she  had  fed  her  fancy  upon  the  legends  and  ballads  of  her 
native  land,  till  she  believed — what  did  she  not  believe  ? — of  mer- 
maids and  pixies,  charms  and  witches,  dreams  and  omens,  and  ail 
that  world  of  magic  in  which  most  of  the  countrywomen,  and 
countrymen  too,  believed  firmly  enough  but  twenty  years  ago 
Then  her  father's  house  was  seldom  without  some  merchant,  or 
sea-captain  from  foreign  parts,  who,  like  Othello,  had  his  tales  of — 

"  Antres  vast,  and  deserts  idle, 
Of  rough  quarries,  rocks,  and  hills  whose  heads  reach  heaven. 

And,-> 

'*  And  of  the  cannibals  that  each  other  eat, 
The  anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders." 

All  which  tales,  she,  like  Desdemona,  devoured  with  greedy  ears, 
whenever  she  could  "  the  house  affairs  with  haste  despatch." 
And  when  these  failed,  there  was  still  boundless  store  of  wonders 
open  to  her  in  old  romances  which  were  then  to  be  found  in  every 
English  house  of  the  better  class.  The  Legend  of  King  Arthur, 
Florice  and  Blancheflour,  Sir  Ysumbras,  Sir  Guy  of  Warwick, 
Palamon  and  Arcite,  and  the  Romaunt  of  the  Rose,  were  with  her 
text-books  and  canonical  authorities.  And  lucky  it  was,  perhaps 
for  her,  that  Sidney's  Arcadia  was  still  in  petto,  or  Mr.  Frank  (who 
had  already  seen  the  first  book  or  two  in  manuscript,  and  extolled 
it  above  all  books  past,  present,  or  to  come)  would  have  surely 
brought  a  copy  down  for  Rose,  and  thereby  have  turned  her  poor 
little  flighty  brains  upside  down  forever.  And  with  her  head  full 
of  these,  it  was  no  wonder  if  she  had  likened  herself  of  late  more 
than  once  to  some  of  those  peerless  princesses  of  old,  for  whose 
fair  hand  paladins  and  kaisers  thundered  against  each  other  in 
tilted  field  ;  and  perhaps  she  would  not  have  been  sorry  (provided, 
of  course,  no  one  was  killed)  if  duels  and  passages  of  arms  in 
honor  of  her,  as  her  father  reasonably  dreaded,  had  actually  taken 
place. 

For  Rose  was  not  only  well  aware  that  she  was  wooed,  but  found 
the  said  wooing  (and  little  shame  to  her)  a  very  pleasant  process. 
Not  that  she  had  any  wish  to  break  hearts  :  she  did  not  break 
her  heart  for  any  of  her  admirers,  and  why  should  they  break  theirs 
for  her  ?  They  were  all  very  charming,  each  in  his  way  (the  gentle- 
men, at  least ;  for  she  had  long  since  learnt  to  turn  up  her  nose 
at  merchants  and  burghers)  ;  but  one  of  them  was  not  so  very 
much  better  than  the  other. 

Of  course,  Mr.  Frank  Leigh  was  the  most  charming  ;  but  then, 
as  a  courtier  and  squire  of  dames,  he  had  never  given  her  a  sign 
of  real  love,  nothing  but  sonnets  and  compliments,  and  there  was 
HO  trusting  such  things  from  a  gal'iant,  who  was  said  (though,  by 


yo  WESTWARD  HO! 

the  by,  most  scandalously)  to  have  a  lady  love  at  Milan,  and  an« 
other  at  Vienna,  and  half-a-dozen  in  the  Court,  and  half-a-dozen 
more  in  the  city. 

And  very  charming  was  Mr.  William  Cary,  with  his  quips  ana 
his  jests,  and  his  galliards  and  lavoltas  ;  over  and  above  his  rich 
inheritance  ;  but  then,  charming  also  Mr.  Coffin  of  Portledge, 
though  he  were  a  little  proud  and  stately  ;  but  which  of  the  two 
shouTd  she  choose  ?  It  would  be  very  pleasant  to  be  mistress  of 
Clovelly  Court ;  but  just  as  pleasant  to  find  herself  lady  of  Port- 
ledge,  where  the  Coffins  had  lived  ever  since  Noah's  flood  (if,  in- 
deed, they  had  not  merely  returned  thither  after  that  temporary 
displacement),  and  to  bring  her  wealth  into  a  family  which  was  as 
proud  of  its  antiquity  as  any  nobleman  in  Devon,  and  might  have 
made  a  fourth  to  that  famous  trio  of  Devonshire  C's,  of  which  it  is 
written, — 

"  Crocker,  Cruwys,  and  Copplestone, 

When  the  Conqueror  came  were  all  at  home." 

And  Mr.  Hugh  Fortescue,  too — people  said  that  he  was  certain 
to  become  a  great  soldier — perhaps  as  great  as  his  brother  Arthur 

and  that  would  be  pleasant  enough,  too,  though  he  was  but  the 

younger  son  of  an  innumerable  family  ;  but  then,  so  was  Amyas 
Leigh.  Ah,  poor  Amyas  !  Her  girl's  fancy  for  him  had  vanished, 
or  rather,  perhaps,  it  was  very  much  what  it  always  had  been, 
only  that  four  or  five  more  girl's  fancies  beside  it  had  entered  in 
ana  kept  it  in  due  subjection.  But  still,  she  could  not  help  think- 
ing a  good  deal  about  him,  and  his  voyage,  and  the  reports  of  his 
great  strength,  and  beauty,  and  valor,  which  had  already  reached 
er  in  that  out-of-the-way  corner ;  and  though  she  was  not  in  the 
least  in  love  with  him,  she  could  not  help  hoping  that  he  had  at 
least  (to  put  her  pretty  little  thought  in  the  mildest  shape)  not  al- 
together forgotten  her ;  and  was  hungering,  too,  with  all  her 
fancy,  to  give  him  no  peace  till  he  had  told  her  all  the  wonderful 
things  which  he  had  seen  and  done  in  this  ever-memorable  voyage. 
So  that  altogether,  it  was  no  wonder,  if  in  her  last  night's  dream 
the  figure  oi  Amyas  had  been  even  more  forward  and  troublesome 
than  that  of  Frank  or  the  rest. 

But,  moreover,  another  figure  had  been  forward  and  trouble- 
some enough  in  last  night's  sleep-world  ;  and  forward  and  trouble- 
some enough,  t-oo,  now  in  to-day's  waking-world,  namely,  Eustace, 
the  rejected.  How  strange  that  she  should  have  dreamt  of  him 
the  night  before  !  and  dreamt,  too,  of  his  fighting  with  Mr.  Frank 
and  Mr.  Amyas  !  It  must  be  a  warning— see,  she  had  met  him  the 
very  next  day  in  ihis  strange  way  ;  so  the  first  half  of  her  dream 
had  come  true  ;  and  after  what  had  past,  she  only  had  to  breathe 
a  whisper,  and  the  second  part  of  the  dream  would  cor:"?e  true  also. 
If  she  wished  for  a  passage  of  arms  in  her  own  honor,  she  could 
easily  enough  compass  one  :  not  that  she  would  do  it  for  worlds  * 
And  after  all,  though  Mr.  Eustace  had  been  very  rude  and  naughty, 
yet  still  it  was  not  his  own  fault ;  he  could  not  help  being  in  love 
with  her.     And— and,  in  short,  the  poor  little  maid  felt  herscU 


WEi^TlVAKD  HO  I  yi 

one  of  the  most  important  personages  on  earth,  with  ali  the  cares 
(or  hearts)  of  the  country  in  her  keeping-,  and  as  much  perplexed 
with  matters  of  weight  as  ever  was  any  Cleophila,  or  Dianeme, 
Fiordispina  or  Flourdeluce,  in  verse  run  tame,  or  prose  run  mad. 

Poor  little  Rose  !  Had  she  but  had  a  mother  !  But  she  was  to 
learn  her  lesson,  such  as  it  was,  in  another  school.  She  was  too 
shy  (too  proud  perhaps)  to  tell  her  aunt  her  mighty  troubles  ;  but  a 
counsellor  she  must  have  ;  and  after  sitting  with  her  head  in  her 
hands,  for  half-an-hour  or  more,  she  arose  suddenly,  and  started 
off  along  the  cliff's  tov/ards  Marsland.  She  would  go  and  see 
Lucy  Passmore,  the  white  witch  ;  Lucy  knew  ever)^thing  ;  Lucy 
v.'ould  tell  her  what  to  do  ;  perhaps  even  whom  to  marry. 

Lucy  was  a  fat,  jolly  woman  of  fifty,  with  little  pig-eyes,  which 
twinkled  like  sparks  of  fire,  and  eyebrows  which  sloped  upwards 
Had  *?utwards,  like  those  of  a  satyr,  as  if  she  had  been  (as  indeed 
oiie  had)  all  her  life  looking  out  of  the  corners  of  her  eyes.  Her 
qualifications  as  white  witch  were  boundless  cunning,  equally 
boundless  good  nature,  considerable  knowledge  of  human  weak- 
nesses, some  mesmeric  powers,  some  skill  in  "  yarbs,"  as  she 
called  her  simples,  a  firm  faith  in  the  virtue  of  her  own  incanta- 
tions, and  the  faculty  of  holding  her  tongue.  By  dint  of  these  she 
contrived  to  gain  a  fair  share  of  money,  and  also  (which  she  liked 
even  better)  of  power,  among  the  simple  folk  for  many  miles 
round.  If  a  child  was  scalded,  a  tooth  ached,  apiece  of  silver 
was  stolen,  a  heifer  shrew-struck,  a  pig  bewitched,  a  young  dam- 
sel crost  in  love,  Lucy  was  called  in,  and  Lucy  found  a  remedy, 
especially  for  the  latter  complaint.  Now  and  then  she  found  her- 
self on  ticklish  ground,  for  the  kind-heartedness  which  compelled 
her  to  help  all  distressed  damsels  out  of  a  scrape,  sometimes  com- 
pelled her  also  to  help  them  into  one  ;  whereon  enraged  fathers 
called  Lucy  ugly  names,  and  threatened  to  send  her  into  Exeter 
jail  for  a  witch,  and  she  smiled  quietly,  and  hinted  that  if  she 
were  "like  some  that  were  ready  to  return  evil  for  evil,  such  talk 
as  that  would  bring  no  blessing  on  them  that  spoke  it  ;  "  which 
being  translated  into  pla  ♦^  English,  meant,  "  If  you  trouble  me,  I 
'vill  overlook  (i.e.  fascinate_^  you,  and  then  your  pigs  will  die,  your 
horses  stray,  your  cream  turn  sour,  your  barns  be  fired,  your  son 
have  St.  Vitus's  dance,  your  daughter  fits,  and  so  on,  v/oe  on  woe, 
till  you  are  very  probably  starved  to  death  in  a  ditch,  by  virtue  of 
this  terrible  little  eye  of  mine,  at  which,  in  spite  of  all  your  swear- 
ing and  bullying,  you  know  you  are  now  shaking  in  your  shoes 
for /ear.  So  you  had  much  better  hold  your  tongue,  give  me  a 
drink  of  cider,  and  leave  ill  alone,  lest  you  make  it  worse." 

Not  that  Lucy  ever  proceeded  to  any  such  fearful  extremities. 
On  the  contrary,  her  boast,  and  her  belief  too,  was,  that  she  was 
sent  into  the  world  to  make  poor  souls  as  happy  as  she  could,  by 
lawful  means,  of  course,  if  possible,  but  if  not — why  unlawful  ones 
were  better  than  none  ;  for  she  "  couldn't  abear  to  see  the  poor 
creatures  taking  on  ;  she  was  too,  too  tender-hearted."  And  so 
she  waft,  to  «very  one  but  her  husband,  a.  tall,   simple-hearted 


72  WEST-TV ARD  HO  t 

rabbit-faced  man,  a  good  deal  older  than  herself.  ^  Fully  agreeing 
with  Sir  Richard  Grenvile's  great  axiom,  that  he  who  cannot  obey 
cannot  rule,  Lucy  had  been  for  the  last  five-and-twenty  years 
training  him  pretty  smartly  to  obey  her,  with  the  intention,  it  is  to 
be  charitably  hoped,  of  letting  him  rule  her  in  turn  when  his  lesson 
was  perfected.  He  bore  his  honors,  however,  meekly  enough, 
having  a  boundless  respect  for  his  wife's  wisdom,  and  a  firm  be- 
lief in  her  supernatural  powers,  and  let  her  go  her  own  way  and 
earn  her  own  money,  while  he  got  a  little  more  in  a  truly  pastoral 
method  (not  extinct  yet  along  those  lonely  cliffs),  by  feeding  a 
herd  of  some  dozen  donkeys  and  twenty  goats.  The  donkeys 
fetched,  at  each  low-tide,  white  shell-sand  which  was  to  be  sold 
for  manure  to  the  neighboring  farmers  ;  the  goats  furnished  milk 
and  "kiddy-pies  ;  "  and  when  there  was  neither  milking  nor  sand- 
carrying  to  be  done,  old  Will  Passmore  just  sat  under  a  sunny 
rock  and  watched  the  buck-goats  rattle  the'ir  horns  together,  think- 
ing about  nothing  at  all,  and  taking  very  good  care  all  the  while 
neither  to  inquire  nor  to  see  who  came  in  and  out  of  his  little  cot- 
tage in  the  glen. 

The  Prophetess,  when  Rose  approached  her  oracular  cave,  was 
seated  on  a  tripod  in  front  of  the  fire,  distilling  strong  waters  out 
of  penny  royal.  But  no  sooner  did  her  distinguished  visitor  ap- 
pear at  the  hatch,  than  the  still  was  left  to  take  care  of  itself,  and 
a  clean  apron  and  mutch  having  been  slipt  on,  Lucy  welcomed 
Rose  with  endless  courtesies,  and — "  Bless  my  dear  soul  alive, 
who  ever  would  have  thought  to  see  the  Rose  of  Torridge  to  my 
poor  little  place  !  " 

Rose  sat  down  :  and  then  ?  How  to  begin  was  more  than  she 
knew,  and  she  stayed  silent  a  full  five  minutes,  looking  earnestly 
at  the  point  of  her  shoe,  till  Lucy,  who  was  an  adept  in  such  cases, 
thought  it  best  to  proceed  to  business  at  once,  and  save  Rose  the 
delicate  operation  of  opening  the  ball  herself  ;  and  so,  in  her  own 
way,  half  fawning,  half  familiar — 

"  Well,  my  dear  young  lady,  and  what  is  it  I  can  do  for  ye  ? 
For  I  guess  you  want  a  bit  of  old  Lucy's  help,  eh  ?  Though  I'm 
most  mazed  to  see  ye  here,  surely,  I  should  have  supposed  that 
pretty  face  could  manage  they  sort  of  matters  for  itself     Eh  ?  " 

Rose,  thus  bluntly  charged,  confessed  at  once,  and  with  many 
blushes  and  hesitations,  made  her  soon  understand  that  what  she 
wanted  was,  "  To  have  her  fortune  told." 

"  Eh  ?  Oh  !  I  see.  The  pretty  face  has  managed  it  a  bit  too 
well  already,  eh  ?  Tu  many  o'mun,  pure  fellows  1  Well,  tain't 
every  mayden  has  her  pick  and  choose,  like  some  I  know  of,  as  be 
blest  in  love  by  stars  above.  So  you  h'aint  made  up  your  mind, 
then?"  v^  . 

Rose  shook  her  head. 

"  Ah-— well,"  she  went  on,  in  a  half  bantering  tone,  "Not  so 
asy,  is  it,  then  ?  One's  gude  for  one  thing,  and  one  for  another, 
eh  ?     One  has  the  blood,  and  another  the  money." 

And  so  the  "cunning  woman  "  (as  she  truly  was),  talking  half 


WESTWARD  HO!  73 

io  herself,  ran  over  all  the  names  which  she  thought  likelf,  peer 
ing  at  Rose  all  the  while  out  of  the  corners  of  her  foxy  bright 
eyes,  while  Rose  stirred  the  peat  ashes  steadfastly  with  the  point 
of  her  little  shoe,  half  angry,  half  ashamed,  half  frightened,  to  lind 
that  "  the  cunning  woman  "  had  guessed  so  well  both  her  suitors 
and  her  thoughts  about  them,  and  tried  to  look  unconcerned  at 
each  nam.e  as  it  came  out. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  Lucy,  who  took  nothing  by  her  move,  simply 
because  there  was  nothing  to  take  ;  "  think  over  it — think  over  it, 
my  dear  life  ;  and  if  you  did  set  your  mind  on  any  one — why,  then 
— then  maybe  I  might  help  you  to  a  sight  of  him." 

"  A  sight  of  him  ?  " 

"  His  sperrit,  dear  life,  his  sperrit  only,  I  mane.  I  'udn't  have  no 
keeping  company  in  my  house,  no,  not  for  gowld  untowld,  I 
'udn't  ;  but  the  sperrit  of  mun — to  see  whether  mun  would  be  true 
or  not,  you'd  like  to  know  that,  now,  'udn't  you,  my  darling  ?  " 

Rose  sighed,  and  stirred  the  ashes  about  vehemently. 

"  I  must  lirst  know  who  it  is  to  be.  If  you  could  show  me  that 
— now " 

"Oh,  I  can  show  ye  that,  tu,  I  can.  Ben  there's  a  way  to  't, 
a  sure  way  ;  but  'tis  mortal  cold  for  the  time  o'  year,  you  zee." 

"  But  what  is  it,  then  ?  "  said  Rose,  who  had  in  her  heart  been 
longing  for  something  of  that  very  kind,  and  had  half  made  up  her 
mind  to  ask  for  a  charm. 

"Why,  you'm  not  afraid  to  goo  into  the  say  by  night  for  a 
minute,  are  you  ?  And  to-morrow  night  w^ould  serve  too  ;  'twill 
be  just  low  tide  to  midnight." 

"If you  would  come  with  me  perhaps " 

"  I'll  come,  I'll  come,  and  stand  within  call,  to  be  sure.  Only 
do  ye  mind  this,  dear  soul  alive,  not  to  goo  tellin  a  crumb  about 
mun,  noo,  not  for  the  world,  or  yu'll  see  nought  at  all,  indeed, 
now.  And  beside,  there's  a  noxious  business  grovv'd  up  against 
me  up  to  Chapel  there  ;  and  I  hear  tell  how  Mr.  Leigh  saith  I  shall 
to  Exeter  jail  for  a  witch — did  ye  ever  hear  the  likes  1 — because  his 
groom  Jan  saith  I  overlooked  mun — the  Papist  dog  !  And  now 
never  he  nor  th' owld  Father  Francis  goo  by  me  withoutaspetting, 
and  saying  of  their  Aves  and  Malificas — I  do  know  what  their 
Rooman  Latin  do  mane,  zo  well  as  ever  they,  I  du  ! — and  a  making 
o'  their  charms  and  incantations  to  their  saints  and  idols  !  They 
be  mortal  feared  of  witches,  they  Papists,  and  mortal  hard  on  'em, 
even  on  a  pure  body  like  me,  that  doth  a  bit  in  the  white  way  ; 
'case  why  you  see,  dear  life,"  said  she,  with  one  of  her  humorous 
twinkles,  "  tu  to  a  trade  do  never  agree.  Do  ye  try  my  bit  ot  a 
charm,  now  ;  do  ye  !  " 

Rose  could  not  resist  the  temptation  ;  and  between  them  both 
the  charm  was  agreed  on,  and  the  next  night  was  fixed  for  its  trial, 
on  the  payment  of  certain  current  coins  of  the  realm  (for  Lucy,  of 
course,  must  live  by  her  trade)  ;  and  slipping  a  tester  into  the 
dame's  hand  as  earnest,  Rose  went  away  home,  and  got  there  in 
safety. 


74  WESTWARD  HO  I 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  at  the  very  hour  that  Eustace  had  been 
prosecuting  his  suit  in  the  lane  at  Moorwinstow,  a  very  different 
scene  was  being  enacted  in  Mrs.  Leigh's  room  at  i3urrough. 

For  the  night  before,  Amyas,  as  he  was  going  to  bed,  heard  his 
brother  Frank  in  the  next  room  tune  his  lute,  and  then  begin  to 
sing.  And  both  their  windows  being  open,  and  only  a  thin  par- 
tition between  the  chambers,  Amyas's  admiring  ears  came  in  for 
every  word  of  the  following  canzonet,  sung  in  that  delicate  and 
mellow  tenor  voice  for  which  Frank  was  famed  among  all  fair 
ladies : — 

"  Ah,  tyrant  Love,  Megaera's  serpents  bearing, 
Why  thus  requite  my  sighs  with  venom'd  smart  ? 

Ah,  ruthless  dove,  the  vulture's  talons  wearing, 
Why  flesh  them,  traitress,  in  this  faithful  heart  i 

Is  this  my  meed  ?     Must  dragons'  teeth  alone 

In  Venus'  lawns  by  lovers'  iiands  be  sown  ? 

**  Nay,  gentlest  Cupid  ;  'twas  my  pride  undii  me 

Nay,  guiltless  dove  ;  by  mine  own  wound  I  fell- 
To  worship,  not  to  wed,  Celestials  bid  me  ; 

I  dreamt  to  mate  in  heaven,  and  wake  in  hell ; 
For  ever  doom 'd,  Ixion-iike,  to  reel 
On  mine  own  passions'  ever-burning  wheel." 

At  which  the  simple  sailor  sighed,  and  longed  that  he  could 
write  such  neat  verses,  and  sing  them  so  sweetly.  How  he  would 
besiege  the  ear  of  Rose  Salterne  with  amorous  ditties  !  But  still, 
he  could  not  be  everything  ;  and  if  he  had  the  bone  and  muscle  of 
the  family,  it  was  but  fair  that  Frank  should  have  the  brains  and 
voice  ;  and,  after  all,  he  was  bone  of  his  bone  and  flesh  of  his  flesh, 
and  it  was  just  the  same  as  if  he  himself  could  do  all  the  fine  things 
which  Frank  could  do  ;  for  as  long  as  one  of  the  family  won 
honor,  what  matter  which  of  them  it  was  ?  Whereon  he  shouted 
through  the  wall,  '•  Good-night,  old  song-thrush  ;  I  suppose  I  need 
not  pay  the  musicians." 

"  What,  awake  .^  "  answered  Frank.  "Come  in  here,  and  lull 
me  to  sleep  with  a  sea-song." 

So  Amyas  went  in,  and  found  Frank  laid  on  the  outside  of  his 
bed  not  yet  undrest. 

"  I  am  a  bad  sleeper,"  said  he  ;  "I  spend  more  time,  I  fear,  in 
burning  the  midnight  oil  than  prudent  men  should.  Come  and  be 
my  jongleur,  my  minne-singer,  and  tell  me  about  Andes,  and 
cannibals,  and  the  ice-regions,  and  the  fire-regions,  and  the  para- 
dises of  the  West." 

So  Amyas  sat  down,  and  told  :  but  somehow,  every  stor)' which 
he  tried  to  tell  came  round,  by  crooked  paths,  yet  sure,  to  none 
other  point  than  Rose  Salterne,  and  how  he  thought  of  her  here 
and  thought  of  her  there,  and  how  he  wondered  what  she  would 
say  if  she  had  seen  him  in  this  adventure,  and  how  he  longed  to 
have  had  her  with  him  to  show  her  that  glorious  sight,  till  Frank 
let  him  have  his  own  way,  and  then  out  came  the  whole  story  of 
the  simple  fellow's  daily  and  hourly  devotion  to  her,  through  those 
three  long  years  of  world-wide  wanderings. 

«'  And  oh,  Frank,  I  could  hardly  think  of  anything  but  her  in  tha 


WESTWARD  HO  !  75 

church  the  other  day,  God  forgive  me  !  and  it  did  seem  so  hard  for 
her  to  be  the  only  face  which  1  did  not  see— and  have  not  seen  her 
yet,  either." 

"So  I  thought,  dear  lad,"  said  Frank,  with  one  of  his  sweetest 
smiles  ;  "  and  tried  to  get  her  father  to  let  her  impersonate  thf. 
nymph  of  Torridge." 

"  Did  you,  you  dear  kind  fellow  ?  That  would  have  been  too 
delicious." 

"Just  so,  too  delicious  ;  wherefore,  I  suppose,  it  was  ordained 
not  to  be,  that  which  was  being  delicious  enough." 

"  And  is  she  as  pretty  as  ever  ?  " 

"  Ten  times  as  pretty,  dear  lad,  as  half  the  young  fellows  round 
have  discovered.  If  you  mean  to  win  her  and  wear  her  (and  God 
grant  you  may  fare  no  worse  !)  you  will  have  rivals  enough  to  get 
rid  of." 

"  Humph  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  I  hope  I  shall  not  have  to  make 
short  work  wi.th  some  of  them." 

"I  hope  not,"  said  Frank,  laughing.  "  Now  go  to  bed,  and  to- 
morrow morning  give  your  sword  to  mother  to  keep,  lest  you 
should  be  tempted  to  draw  it  on  any  of  her  Majesty's  lieges." 

"  No  fear  of  that,  Frank  ;  I  am  no  swash-buckler,  thank  God  ; 
but  if  any  one  gets  in  my  way,  I'll  serve  him  as  the  mastiff  did  the 
terrier,  and  just  drop  him  over  the  quay  into  the  river,  to  cool 
himself,  or  my  name's  not  Amyas." 

And  the  giant  swung  himself  laughing  out  of  the  room,  and 
slept  all  night  like  a  seal,  not  without  dreams,  of  course,  of  Rose 
Salterne. 

The  next  morning,  according  to  his  wont,  he  went  into  his 
mother's  room,  whom  he  was  sure  to  find  up  and  at  her  prayers  ; 
for  he  liked  to  say  his  prayers,  too,  by  her  side,  as  he  used  to  do 
when  he  was  a  little  boy.  It  seemed  so  homelike,  he  said,  after 
three  years'  knocking  up  and  down  in  no-man's  land.  But  com- 
ing gently  to  the  door,  for  fear  of  disturbing  her,  and  entering  un^. 
perceived,  beheld  a  sight  which  stopped  him  short. 

Mrs.  Leigh  was  sitting  in  her  chair,  with  her  face  bowed  fondly 
down  upon  the  head  of  his  brother  Frank,  who  knelt  before  her, 
his  face  buried  in  her  lap.  Amyas  could  see  that  his  whole  form 
was  quivering  with  stifled  emotion.  Their  mother  was  just  fin- 
ishing the  last  words  of  a  well-known  text — "  for  my  sake,  and  the 
Gospel's,  shall  receive  a  hundredfold  in  this  present  life,  fathers, 
and  mothers,  and  brothers,  and  sisters." 

"  But  not  a  wife  !  "  interrupted  Frank,  with  a  voice  stifled  with 
sobs;  "  that  was  too  precious  a  gift  for  even  Him  to  promise  to 
those  who  gave  up  a  first  love  for  His  sake  !  " 

"  And  yet,"  said  he,  after  a  moment's  silence,  "  has  He  not 
heaped  me  with  blessings  enough  already,  that  I  must  repine 
and  rage  at  His  refusing  me  one  more,  even  though  that  one 
be — No,  mother  !  I  am  your  son,  and  God's  ;  and  you  shall  know 
it,  even  though  Amyas  never  does  \  "     And  he  looked  up  with  his 


y5  IVESTlVARlt  ffOI 

clear  blue  eyes  and  white  forehead;  and  his  face  was  ^^  the  face 
of  an  angel.  j         . 

Both  of  them  saw  that  Amyas  was  present,  and  started  and 
blushed.  His  mother  motioned  him  away  with  her  eyes,  and 
he  went  quietly  out,  as  one  stunned.  Why  had  his  name  been 
mentioned  ? 

Love,  cunning  love,  told  him  all  at  once.  This  was  the  mean- 
ing of  last  night's  canzonet  !  This  was  why  its  words  had  seemed 
to  fit  his  own  heart  so  well !  His  brother  was  his  rival.  And  he 
had  been  telling  him  all  his  love  last  night.  What  a  stupid  brute 
he  was  !  How  it  must  have  made  poor  Frank  wince  !  And  then 
Frank  had  listened  so  kindly  ;  even  bid  him  God  speed  in  his 
suit.     What  a  gentleman  old  Frank  was,  to  be  sure  !     No  wonder 

the  Queen  was  so  fond  of  him,  and  all  the  Court  ladies  ! Why, 

if  it  came  to  that,  what  wonder  if  Rose  Salterne  should  be  fond  of 
him  too  ?  Hey-day  ?  "  That  would  be  a  pretty  fish  to  find  in  my 
net  when  I  come  to  haul  it !"  quoth  Amyas  to  himself,  as  he  paced 
the  garden  ;  and  clutching  desperately  hold  of  his  locks  with  both 
hands,  as  if  to  hold  his  poor  confused  head  on  its  shoulders,  he 
strode  and  tramped  up  and  down  the  shell-paved  garden  walks 
for  a  full  half  hour,  till  Frank's  voice  (as  cheerful  as  ever,  though 
he  more  than  suspected  all)  called  him. 

"Come  in  to  breakfast,  lad  ;  and  stop  grinding  and  creaking 
upon  those  miserable  limpets,  before  thou  hast  set  every  tooth  in 
my  head  on  edge ! "  ,  •   ,  v 

Amyas,  whether  by  dint  of  holding  his  head  straight,  or  by 
higher  means,  had  got  the  thoughts  of  the  said  head  straight 
enough  by  this  time  ;  and  in  he  came,  and  fell  to  upon  the  broiled 
fish  and  strong  ale,  with  a  sort  ot  furv,  as  determined  to  do  his 
duty  to  the  utmost  in  all  matters  that  day  ;  and  therefore,  of 
course,  in  that  most  important  matter  of  bodily  sustenance  ;  while 
his  mother  and  Frank  looked  at  him,  not  without  anxiety_  and 
even  terror,  doubting  what  turn  his  fancy  might  have  taken  in  so 
new  a  case  ;  at  last — 

"  My  dear  Amyas,  you  will  really  heat  your  blood  wnth  all  thai 
strong  ale  !     Remember,  those  who  drink  beer,  think  beer." 

"  Then  they  think  right  good  thoughts,  mother.  And  in  the 
meanwhile,  those  who  drink  water,  think  water.  Eh,  old  Frank  ? 
and  here's  your  health." 

"  And  clouds  are  water,"  said  his  mother,  somewhat  reas- 
sured by  his  genuine  good-humor  ;  "  and  so  are  rainbovys  ;  and 
clouds  are  angels'  thrones,  and  rainbows  the  sign  of  God's  peace 
on  earth." 

Amyas  understood  the  hint,  and  laughed.  "  Then  I'll  pledge 
Frank  out  of  the  next  ditch,  if  it  please  you  and  him.  But  first 
— I  say — he  must  hearken  to  a  parable  ;  a  manner  mystery, 
miracle  play,  I  have  got  in  my  head,  like  what  they  have  at 
Easter,  to  the  town-hall.  Now  then,  hearken,  madam,  and  I  and 
Frank  will  act."  And  up  rose  Amyas,  and  shoved  back  his  chair 
and  put  on  a  solemn  face. 


WESTIVARD  HOI 


77 


Mrs.  Leigh  looked  up,  trembling  ;  and  Frank,  he  scarce  knevf 
why,  rose. 

••  No  ;  you  pitch  again.  You  are  King  David,  and  sit  still  upon 
your  throne.  David  was  a  great  singer,  you  know,  and  a  player 
on  the  viols  ;  and  ruddy,  too,  and  of  a  fair  countenance  ;  so  that 
will  fit.  Now,  then,  mother,  don't  look  so  frightened.  I  am  not 
going  to  play  Goliath,  for  all  my  cubits  ;  I  am  to  present  Nathan 
the  prophet.  Now,  David,  hearken,  for  I  have  a  message  unto 
thee,  O  King  ! 

•'  There  Were  two  men  in  one  city,  one  rich  and  the  other  poor : 
and  the  rich  man  had  many  flocks  and  herds,  and  all  the  fine 
ladies  in  Whitehall  to  court  if  he  liked  ;  and  the  poor  man  had 
nothing  but " 

And  in  spite  of  his  broad,  honest  smile,  Amyas'  deep  voice  be- 
gan to  tremble  and  choke. 

Frank  sprang  up,  and  burst  into  tears  : — "  Oh,  Amyas,  my 
brother,  my  brother  !  stop  !  I  cannot  endure  this.  Oh,  God  !  was 
it  not  enough  to  have  entangled  myself  in  this  fatal  fancy,  but 
over  and  above,  I  must  meet  the  shame  of  my  brother's  discover- 
ing it  ?  " 

"  What  shame,  then,  Fd  like  to  know  ?  "  said  Amyas,  recover- 
ing himself.  "  Look  here,  brother  Frank  !  I've  thought  it  all 
over  in  the  garden  ;  and  I  was  an  ass  and  a  braggart  for  talking 
to  you  as  I  did  last  night.  Of  course  you  love  her  !  Everybody 
must ;  and  I  was  a  fool  for  not  recollecting  that  ;  and  if  you  love 
her,  your  taste  and  mine  agree,  and  what  can  be  better  }  I  think 
you  are  a  sensible  fellow  for  loving  her,  and  you  think  me  one. 
And  as  for  who  has  her,  why,  you're  the  eldest  ;  and  first  come 
first  served  is  the  rule,  and  best  to  keep  to  it.  Besides,  brother 
Frank,  though  I'm  no  scholar,  yet  I'm  not  so  blind  but  that  I  tell 
the  difi"erence  between  you  and  me  ;  and  of  course  your  chance 
against  mine,  for  a  hundred  to  one  ;  and  I  am  not  going  to  be 
fool  enough  to  row  against  wind  and  tide  too.  I'm  good  enough 
for  her,  I  hope  ;  but  if  I  am,  you  are  better,  and  the  good  dog  may 
run,  but  it's  the  best  that  takes  the  hare  ;  and  so  I  have  nothing 
more  to  do  with  the  matter  at  all  ;  and  if  you  marry  her,  why,  it 
will  set  the  old  house  on  its  legs  again,  and  that's  the  first  thing 
to  be  thought  of,  and  you  may  just  as  well  do  it  as  I,  and  better 
too.  Not  but  that  it's  a  plague,  a  horrible  plague  !  "  went  on 
Amyas,  with  a  ludicrously  doleful  visage  :  "  but  so  are  other 
things  too,  by  the  dozen  ;  it's  all  in  the  day's  work,  as  the  hunts- 
man said  when  the  lion  ate  him.  One  would  never  get  through 
the  furze-croft  if  one  stopped  to  pull  out  the  prickles.  The  pig 
didn't  scramble  out  of  the  ditch  by  squeaking  ;  and  the  less  said 
the  sooner  mended  ;  nobody  was  sent  into  the  world  only  to 
suck  honey-pots.  What  must  be  must,  man  is  but  dust  ;  if  you 
can't  get  crumb,  you  must  fain  eat  crust.  So  I'll  go  and  join  the 
army  in  Ireland,  and  get  it  out  of  my  head,  for  cannon  balls  fright 
away  love'as  well  as  poverty  does  ;  and  that's  all  I've  got  to  say.** 


7^  WESTWARD  not 

Wherewith  Amyas  sat  down,  and  returned  to  the  beer ;  while 
Mrs.  Leigh  wept  tears  of  joy. 

"  Amyas  !  Amyas  !  "  said  Frank  ;  "  you  must  not  throw  away 
the  hopes  of  years,  and  for  me,  too  !  Oh,  how  just  was  your 
parable  !  Ah  !  mother  mine  !  to  what  use  is  all  my  scholarship 
and  my  philosophy,  when  this  dear  simple  sailor-lad  outdoes  me 
at  the  first  trial  of  courtesy  !  " 

"  My  children,  my  children,  which  of  you  shall  I  love  best  ? 
Which  of  you  is  the  more  noble  ?  I  thanked  God  this  morning  for 
having  given  me  one  such  son  ;  but  to  have  found  that  I  possess 
two  !  "  And  Mrs.  Leigh  laid  her  head  on  the  table,  and  buried  her 
face  in  her  hands,  while  the  generous  battle  went  on. 

"But,  dearest  Amyas  1 " 

"  But,  Frank  !  if  you  don't  hold  your  tongue,  I  must  go  forth. 
It  was  quite  trouble  enough  to  make  up  one's  mind,  without  hav- 
ing you  afterwards  trying  to  unmake  it  again." 

"  Amyas  !  "  if  you  give  her  up  to  me,  God  do  so  to  me,  and 
more  also,  if  I  do  not  hereby  give  her  up  to  you  !  " 

"He  had  done  it  already — this  morning!"  said  Mrs.  Leigh, 
looking  up  through  her  tears.  "  He  renounced  her  forever  on 
his  knees  before  me  !  only  he  is  too  noble  to  tell- you  so." 

"The  more  reason  I  should  copy  him,"  said  Amyas,  setting  his 
lips,  and  trying  to  look  desperately  determined,  and  then  sud- 
denly jumping  up,  he  leaped  upon  Frank,  and  throwing  his  arms 
round  his  neck,  sobbed  out,  "  There,  there,  now  !  For  God's 
sake,  let  us  forget  all,  and  think  about  our  mother,  and  the  old 
house,  and  how  we  may  win  her  honor  before  we  die  !  and  that  will 
be  enough  to  keep  our  hands  full,  without  fretting  about  this 
woman  and  that. — What  an  ass  1  have  been  for  years  !  instead  of 
learning  my  calling,  dreaming  about  her,  and  don't  know  at  this 
minute  whether  she  cares  more  for  me  than  she  does  for  her 
father's  'prentices  !  " 

"Oh,  Amyas  !  every  word  of  yours  puts  me  to  fresh  shame  ! 
Will  you  believe  that  I  know  as  little  of  her  likings  as  you  do  ?  " 

"  Don't  tell  me  that,  and  play  the  devil's  game  by  putting  fresh 
hopes  into  me,  when  I  am  trying  to  kick  them  out.  I  won't  be- 
lieve it.  If  she  is  not  a  fool  she  must  love  you  ;  and  if  she  don't, 
why,  behanged  if  she  is  worth  loving  !  " 

"  My  dearest  Amyas  !  I  must  ask  you  too  to  make  no  more  such 
speeches  to  me.     All  those  thoughts  I  have  forsworn." 

"  Only  this  morning  ;  so  there  is  time  to  catch  them  again  be- 
fore they  are  gone  too  far." 

"Only  this  morning,"  said  Frank,  with  a  quiet  smile:  "but 
centuries  have  passed  since  then." 

"  Centuries  ?     I  don't  see  many  gray  hairs  yet." 

"  I  should  not  have  been  surprised  if  you  had,  though,"  an- 
swered Frank,  in  so  sad  and  meaning  a  tone  that  Amyas  could 
only  answer — 

"  Well,  you  are  an  angel  1  " 


WESTWARD  HO!  79 

**  You,  at  least,  are  something  even  more  to  the  purpose,  fol 
you  are  a  man  !  " 

And  both  spoke  truth,  and  so  the  battle  ended  ;  and  Frank 
went  to  his  booivs,  while  Amyas,  who  must  needs  be  doing,  if  he 
was  not  to  dream,  started  off  to  the  dockyard  to  potter  about  a 
new  ship  of  Sir  Richard's,  and  forget  his  woes,  in  the  capacity  of 
Sir  Oracle  among  the  sailors.  And  so  he  had  played  his  move 
for  Rose,  even  as  Eustace  had,  and  lost  her :  but  not  as  Eustace 
had. 


CHAPTER  V. 
CLOVELLY  COURT  IN  THE  OLDEN  TIME. 


*'  It  was  among  the  ways  of  good  Queen  Bess, 
Who  ruled  as  well  as  ever  mortal  can,  sir, 
When  she  was  stogg'd  and  the  country  in  a  _messj 
She  was  wont  to  send  for  a  Devon  man,  sir." 

M^est  Country  Song,* 


The  next  morning  Amyas  Leigh  was  not  to  be  found.  Not  that 
he  had  gone  out  to  drown  himself  in  despair,  or  even  to  bemoan 
himself  "  down  by  the  Torridge  side."  He  had  simply  ridden  off, 
Frank  found,  to  Sir  Richard  Grenvile  at  Stow  :  his  mother  at 
once  divined  the  truth,  that  he  was  gone  to  try  for  a  post  in  the 
Irish  army,  and  sent  off  Frank  after  him  to  bring  him  home 
again,  and  make  him  at  least  reconsider  himself. 

So  Frank  took  horse  and  rode  thereon  ten  miles  or  more  ;  and 
then,  as  there  were  no  inns  on  the  road  in  those  days,  or  in- 
deed in  these,  and  he  had  some  ten  miles  more  of  hilly  road  be- 
fore him,  he  turned  down  the  hill  towards  Clovelly  Court,  to  ob- 
tain, after  the  hospitable  humane  fashion  of  those  days,  good  en- 
tertainment for  man  and  horse  from  Mr.  Cary  the  squire. 

And  when  he  walked  self-invited,  like  the  loud-shouting  Mene- 
laus,  in  the  long  dark  wainscoted  hall  of  the  Court,  the  first  object 
he  beheld  was  the  mighty  form  of  Amyas,  who,  seated  at  the  long 
table,  was  alternately  burying  his  face  in  a  pasty,  and  the  pasty  in 
his  face,  his  sorrows  having,  as  it  seemed,  only  sharpened  his  ap- 
pe'-.ite,  while  young  Will  Cary,  kneeling  on  the  opposite  bench, 
with  his  elbows  on  the  table,  was  in  that  graceful  attitude  laying 
down  the  law  fiercely  to  him  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Hillo,  lad,"  cried  Amyas  ;  "  come  hither  and  deliver  me  out  of 
the  hands  of  this  fire-eater,  who  I  verily  beli'^^e  will  kill  me,  if  I 
do  not  let  him  kill   some  one  else." 

"Ah  !  Mr.  Frank,"  said  Will  Cary,  who,  like  all  other  young 
gentlernen  of  these  parts,  held  Frank  in  high  honor,  and  consid- 
ered him  a  very  oracle  and  cynosure  of  fashion  and  chivalr/, 
*'  welcome  here  :   I  was  just  longing    ar  vou,  too ;  I  wanted 


«l^  WESTWARD  HOI 

your  advice  on  half-a-dozen  matters.    Sit  down,  and  eat.    There 
IS  the  ale." 

"  None  so  early,  thank  you." 

"  Ah  no  !  "  said  Amyas,  burying  his  head  in  the  tankard,  and 
chen  mimicking  Frank,  "  avoid  strong  ale  o'  mornings.  It  heats 
the  blood,  thickens  the  animal  spirits,  and  obfuscates  the  cerebrum 
with  frenetical  and  lymphatic  idols,  which  cloud  the  quintessen- 
tial light  of  the  pure  reason.  Eh  ?  young  Plato,  young  Daniel, 
come  hither  to  judgment  !  And  yet,  though  I  cannot  see  through 
the  bottom  of  the  tankard  already,  I  can  see  plain  enough  still  to 
see  this,  that  Will  shall  not  fight." 

"  Shall  I  not,  eh  ?  who  says  that  ?  Mr.  Frank,  I  appeal  to  you, 
now  ;  only  hear." 

"  We  are  in  the  judgment-seat,"  said  Frank,  settling  to  the 
pasty.     "  Proceed,  appellant." 

"  Well,  I  was  telling  Amyas,  that  Tom  Coffin,  of  Portledge  ;  I 
will  stand  him  no  longer." 

"  Let  him  be,  then,  said  Amyas  ;  "  he  could  stand  very  well  by 
himself,  when  I  saw  him  last." 

•'  Plague  on  you,  hold  your  tongue.  Has  he  any  right  to  look 
al  me  as  he  does,  whenever  I  pass  him  ?" 

"  That  depends  on  how  he  looks  ;  a  cat  may  look  at  a  king,  pro- 
vided she  don't  take  him  for  a  mouse." 

"  Oh,  I  know  how  he  looks,  and  what  he  means  too,  and  he 
shall  stop,  or  I  will  stop  him.  And  the  other  day,  when  I  spoke  of 
Rose  Salterne."— "  Ah  !  "  groaned  Frank,  "  At^'s  apple  again  !  "— 
"(never  mind  what  I  said)  he  burst  out  laughing  in  my 
face  ;  and  is  not  that  a  fair  quarrel  ?  And  what  is  more,  I  know 
that  he  wrote  a  sonnet,  and  sent  it  to  her  to  Stow  by  a  market 
woman.  What  right  has  he  to  write  sonnets  when  I  can't  ?  It's 
not  fair  play,  Mr.  Frank,  or  I  am  a  Jew,  and  a  Spaniard,  and  a 
Papist ;  It's  not  !  "  And  Will  smote  the  table  till  the  plates  danced 
again. 

"  My  dear  knight  of  the  burning  pestle,  I  have  a  plan,  a  device, 
a  disentanglement,  according  to  most  approved  rules  of  chivalry. 
Let  us  fix  a  day,  and  summon  by  tuck  of  drum  all  young  gentle- 
men under  the  age  of  thirty,  dwelling  within  fifteen  miles  of  the 
habitation  of  that  peerless  Oriana." 

"  And  all  'prentice-boys  too,"  cried  Amyas  out  of  the  pasty. 

"  And  all  'prentice-boys,  The  bold  lads  shall  fight  first,  with 
good  quarterstaves,  in  Bideford  Market,  till  all  heads  are  broken  ; 
and  the  head  which  is  not  broken,  let  the  back  belong  to  it  pay  the 
penalty  of  the  noble  member's  cowardice.  After  which  grand 
tournament,  to  which  that  of  Tottenham  shall  be  but  a  flea-bite 
and  a  batrachomyomachy " 

"  Confound  you,  and  your  long  words,  sir,'  said  poor  Will,  "I 
know  you  are  flouting  me." 

"  Pazienza,  Signor  Cavaliere  ;  that  which  is  to  come  is  no  fiount- 
ing,  but  bloody  and  warlike  earnest.  For  afterwards  all  the  young 
gentlemen  shall  adjourn  into  a  convenient  field,  sand,  or  bog- 


WESTWARD  HO}  8 1 

which  last  will  be  better,  as  no  man  will  be  able  to  nm  away,  if  he 
be  up  to  his  knees  in  soft  peat :  and  there  stripping  to  our  skirts, 
with  rapiers  of  equal  length  and  keenest  temper,  each  shall  slay 
his  man,  catch  who  catch  can,  and  the  conquerors  fight  again, 
like  a  most  valiant  main  of  gamecocks  as  we  are,  till  all  be  dead, 
and  out  of  their  woes  ;  after  which  the  survivor,  bewailing  before 
heaven  and  earth  the  cruelty  of  our  Fair  Oriana,  and  the  slaughter 
which  her  basiliscine  eyes  have  caused,  shall  fall  gracefully  upon 
his  sword,  and  so  end  the  woes  of  this  our  lovelorn  generation. 
Flacetne  Domini  ?  as  they  used  to  ask  in  the  Senate  at  Oxford." 

•'  Really,"  said  Gary,  "  this  is  too  bad." 

"So  is,  pardon  me,  your  fighting  Mr.  Coffin  with  anything 
longer  than  a  bodkin." 

"  Bodkins  are  too  short  for  such  fierce  Bobadils,"  said  Amyas  ; 
*'  they  would  close  in  so  near,  that  we  should  have  them,  falling  to 
fisticuffs  after  the  first  bout." 

"  Then  let  them  fight  with  squirts  across  the  market-place  ;  for, 
by  heaven  and  the  queen's  laws,  they  shall  fight  with  nothing 
else." 

•*  My  dear  Mr.  Gary,"  went  on  Frank,  suddenly  changing  his 
bantering  tone  to  one  of  the  most  winning  sweetness  ;  "  do  not 
fancy  that  I  cannot  feel  for  you  ;  or  that  I,  as  well  as  you,  have 
not  known  the  stings  of  love  and  the  bitterer  stings  of  jealousy.  But 
oh,  Mr.  Gar>',  does  it  not  seem  to  you  an  awful  thing  to  waste 
selfishly  upon  your  own  quarrel  that  divine  wrath  which,  as  Plato 
says,  is  the  very  root  of  all  virtues,  and  which  has  been  given  you, 
like  all  else  which  you  have,  that  you  may  spend  it  in  the  service 
of  her  whom  all  bad  souls  fear,  and  all  virtuous  souls  adore, — our 
peerless  queen  ?  Who  dares,  while  she  rules  England,  call  his 
sword  or  his  courage  his  own,  or  any  one's  but  hers.  Are  there  no 
Spaniards  to  conquer,  no  wild  Irish  to  deliver  from  their  oppres- 
sors, that  two  gentlemen  of  Devon  can  find  no  better  place  to  flesh 
their  blades  than  in  each  other's  valiant  and  honorable  hearts  ?  ** 

"  By  heaven  !  "  cried  Amyas,  "  Frank  speaks  like  a  book  ;  and 
for  me,  I  do  think  that  Ghristian  gentlemen  may  leave  love  quarrels 
to  bulls  and  rams." 

"  And  that  the  heir  of  Clovelly,"  said  Frank,  smiling,  "  may  find 
more  noble  examples  to  copy  than  the  stags  in  his  own  deer-park." 

"  Well,"  said  Will  penitently,  "  you  are  a  great  scholar,  Mr. 
Frank,  and  you  speak  like  one  ;  but  gentlemen  must  fight  some- 
times, or  where  would  be  their  honor. ' 

"  I  speak,"  said  Frank  a  little  proudly,  *'  not  merely  as  a  scholar, 
but  as  a  gentleman,  and  one  who  has  fought  ere  now,  and  to  whom 
it  has  happened,  Mr.  Gary,  to  kill  his  man  (on  whose  soul  may 
God  have  mercy) ;  but  it  is  my  pride  to  remember  that  I  hav« 
never  yet  fought  in  my  own  quarrel,  and  my  trust  in  God  that  I 
never  shall.  For  as  there  is  nothing  more  noble  and  blessed  than 
to  fight  in  behalf  of  those  whom  we  love,  so  to  fight  in  our  own 

i)rivate  behalf  is  a  thing  not  to  be  allowed  to  a  Ghristian  man  un- 
css  refmsal  imports  utter  loss  of  life  or  honor  ;  and  even  then,  it 


82  WESTWARD  HO  f 

may  be  (though  I  would  not  lay  a  burden  on  any  man's  conscience), 
it  is  better  not  to  resist  evil,  but  to  overcome  it  with  good." 

*'  And  I  can  tell  you,  Will,"  said  Amyas,  "I  am  not  troubled 
with  fear  of  ghosts  ;  but  when  I  cut  off  the  Frenchman's  head,  I 
said  to  myself,  '  If  that  braggart  had  been  slandering  me  instead 
of  her  gracious  Majesty,  I  should  expect  to  see  that  head  lying  on 
my  pillow  every  time  I  went  to  bed  at  night." 

"Crod  forbid  !  "  said  Will,  with  a  shudder.  "  But  what  shall  I 
do  ?  for  to  market  to-morrow  I  will  go,  if  it  were  choke  full  ol 
Coffins,  and  a  ghost  in  each  coffin  of  the  lot." 

"Leave  the  matter  tome,"  said  Amyas.  "  I  have  my  device, 
as  well  as  scholar  Frank  here  ;  and  if  there  be.  as  I  suppose  there 
must  be,  a  quarrel  in  the  market  to-morrow,  see  if  I  do  not " 

"  Well,  you  are  two  good  fellows,"  said  Will.  "Let  us  have 
another  tankard  in." 

"  And  drink  the  health  of  Mr.  Coffin,  and  all  gallant  lads  of  the 
North,"  said  Frank  ;  "  and  now  to  my  business.  J  have  to  take 
this  runaway  youth  here  home  to  his  mother  ;  and  if  he  will  not 
go  quietly,  I  have  orders  to  carry  him  across  my  saddle." 

"  I  hope  your  nag  has  a  strong  back,  then,"  said  Amyas  ;  "but 
I  must  go  on  and  see  Sir  Richard,  Frank.  It  is  all  very  well  to 
jest  as  we  have  been  doing,  but  my  mind  is  made  up," 

"  Stop,"  said  Cary.  "  You  must  stay  here  to-night  ;  first,  for 
good  fellowship's  sake  ;  and  next,  because  I  want  the  advice  ot 
our  Phoenix  here,  our  oracle,  our  paragon.  There,  Mr.  Frank, 
can  you  construe  that  for  me  ?  Speak  low,  though,  gentlemen 
both  ;  there  comes  my  father  ;  you  had  better  give  me  the  letter 
again.     Well,  father,  whence  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Eh,  company  here  ?  Young  men,  you  are  always  welcome, 
and  such  as  you.  Would  there  were  more  of  your  sort  in  these 
dirty  times.  How  is  yor.r  good  mother,  Frank,  eh  ?  Where  have 
I  been,  Will  ?  Round  the  house-farm,  to  look  at  the  beeves. 
That  sheeted  heifer  of  Prowse's  is  all  wrong  ;  her  coat  stares  like 
a  hedgepig's.  Tell  Jewell  to  go  up  and  bring  her  in  before  night. 
And  then  up  the  forty  acres  ;  sprang  two  coveys,  and  picked  a  leash 
out  of  them.  The  Irish  hawk  flies  as  wild  as  any  haggard  still, 
and  will  never  make  a  bird.  I  had  to  hand  her  to  Tom,  and  take 
the  little  peregrine.  Give  me  a  Clovelly  hawk  against  the  world, 
after  all ;  and — heigh  ho,  I  am  ver>'  hungry  !  Half-past  twelve, 
and  dinner  not  served  ?  What,  Master  Amyas,  spoiling  your  ap- 
petite with  strong  ale  ?  Better  have  tried  sack,  lad  ;  have  some 
now  with  me." 

And  the  worthy  old  gentleman,  having  finished  his  oration, 
settled  himself  on  a  great  bench  inside  the  chimney,  and  put  his 
hawk  on  a  perch  over  his  head,  while  his  cockers  coiled  them- 
selves up  close  to  the  warm  peat-ashes,  and  his  son  set  to  work  to 
puil  off  his  father's  boots,  amid  sundry  warnings  to  take  care  of 
his  corns. 

"Come,  Master  Amyas.  a  pint  of  white  wine  and  sugar,  and  L 


WESTWARD  HO  !  Z% 

bit  of  a  shoeing-horn  to  it  ere  we  dine.     Some  pickled  prawns, 
now,  or  a  rasher  off  the  coals,  to  whet  you  ?  " 

"Thank  you,"  quoth  Amyas  ;  "  but  I  have  drunk  a  mort  of 
outlandish  liquors,  better  and  worse,  in  the  last  three  years,  and 
yet  never  found  aught  to  come  up  to  good  ale,  which  needs  neither 
shoeing-horn  before  nor  after,  but  takes  care  of  itself,  and  of  all 
honest  stomachs  too,  1  think." 

"  You  speak  like  a  book,  boy,"  said  old  Cary ;  "and  after  all, 
what  a  plague  comes  of  these  new-fangled  hot  wines,  and  aqua 
vitals,  which  have  come  in  since  the  wars,  but  maddening  of  the 
brains,  and  fever  of  the  blood  1  " 

"  I  fear  we  have  not  seen  the  end  of  that  yet,"  said  Frank. 
*'  My  friends  write  me  from  the  Netherlands  that  our  men  are 
falling  into  a  swinish  trick  of  swilling  like  the  Hollanders. 
Heaven  grant  that  they  may  not  bring  home  the  fashion  with 
them." 

"  A  man  must  drink,  they  say,  or  die  of  the  ague,  in  those  vile 
swamps,"  said  Amyas.  "  When  they  get  home  here,  they  will 
not  need  it." 

"Heaven  grant  it,"  said  Frank;  "I  should  be  sorry  to  see 
Devonshire  a  drunken  county  ;  and  there  are  many  of  our  men. 
out  there  with  Mr.  Champernoun." 

"Ah,"  said  Cary,  "there,  as  in  Ireland,  we  are  proving  her 
Majesty's  saying  true,  that  Devonshire  is  her  right  hand,  and  the 
young  children  thereof  like  the  arrov/s  in  the  hand  of  a  giant." 

"  They  may  well  be,"  said  his  son,  "when  some  of  them  arc 
giants  themselves,  like  my  tall  schoolfellow  opposite." 

"  He  will  be  up  and  doing  again  presently,  I'll  warrant  him," 
said  old  Cary. 

"  And  that  I  shall,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  I  have  been  devising  brave 
deeds  ;  and  see  in  the  distance  enchanters  to  be  bound,  dragons 
choked,  empires  conquered,  though  not  in  Holland." 

"  You  do  ?  "  asked  Will  a  little  sharply  ;  for  he  had  had  a  half 
suspicion  that  more  was  meant  than  met  the  ear. 

"  Yes,"  said  Amyas,  turning  off  his  jest  again,  "  I  go  to  what 
Raleigh  calls  the  Land  of  the  Nymphs.  Another  month,  I  hope 
will  see  me  abroad  in  Ireland." 

"Abroad?  Call  it  rather  at  home,"  said  old  Cary  ;  "for  it  is 
full  of  Devon  men  from  end  to  end,  and  you  will  be  among  friends 
all  day  long.  George  Bourchier  from  Tawstock  has  the  army 
now  in  Munster,  and  Warham  St.  Leger  is  Marshal  ;  George 
Carew  is  with  Lord  Gray  of  Wilton  (poor  Peter  Carew  was  killed 
at  Glendalough)  ;  and  after  the  defeat  last  year,  when  that  villain  ■ 
Desmond  cut  off  Herbert  and  Price,  the  companies  were  made 
up  with  six  hundred  Devon  men,  and  Arthur  Fortescue  at  their 
head  ;  so  that  the  old  county  holds  her  head  as  proudly  in  the 
Land  of  Ire  as  she  does  in  the  Low  Countries  and  the  Spanish  Main." 

"  And  where,"  asked  Amyas,  "  is  Davils  of  Marsland,  who  used 
to  teach  me  how  to  catch  trout,  when  I  was  staying  down  ai 
Stow  ?     He  is  an  Ireland,  too,  is  he  not  .-*" 


84  WESTIVARD  HO! 

*'  Ah,  my  lad,**  said  Mr.  Gary,  *•  that  is  a  sad  story.  I  thought 
all  England  had  known  it." 

"  You  forget,  sir,  I  am  a  stranger.     Surely  he  is  not  dead  ?  " 

"  Murdered  foully,  lad  !  Murdered  like  a  dog,  and  by  the  man 
whom  he  had  treated  as  his  son,  and  who  pretended,  the  false 
knave  !  to  call  him  father." 

"  His  blood  is  avenged  ?  "  said  Amyas  fiercely. 

"  No,  by  heaven,  not  yet!  Stay,  don't  cry  out  again.  I  am 
getting  old — I  must  tell  my  story  my  own  way.  It  was  last 
July, — was  it  not,  Will  ? — Over  comes  to  Ireland  Saunders,  one 
of  those  Jesuit  foxes,  as  the  Pope's  legate,  with  money  and  bulls, 
and  a  banner  hallowed  by  the  Pope,  and  the  devil  knows  what 
beside  ;  and  with  him  James  Fitzmaurice,  the  same  fellow  who 
had  sworn  on  his  knees  to  Perrott,  in  the  church  at  Kilmallock, 
to  be  a  true  liegeman  to  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  confirmed  it  by  all 
his  saints,  and  such  a  world  of  his  Irish  howling,  that  Perrott  told 
me  he  was  fain  to  stop  his  own  ears.  Well,  he  had  been  practis- 
ing with  the  King  of  France,  but  got  nothing  but  laughter  for  his 
pains,  and  so  went  over  to  the  Most  Catholic  King,  and  promises 
him  to  join  Ireland  to  Spain,  and  set  up  Popery  again,  and  what 
not.  And  he,  I  suppose,  thinking  it  better  that  Ireland  should  be- 
long to  him  than  to  the  Pope's  bastard,  fits  him  out,  and  sends 
him  off  on  such  another  errand  as  Stukely's, — though  I  will  say, 
for  the  honor  of  Devon,  if  Stukely  lived  like  a  fool,  he  died  like  an 
honest  man." 

"  Sir  Thomas  Stukely  dead  too  ?  "  said  Amyas. 

*•  Wait  a  while,  lad,  and  you  shall  have  that  tragedy  after- 
wards. Well,  where  was  I  ?  Oh,  Fitzmaurice  and  the  Jesuits 
land  at  Smerwick,  with  three  ships,  choose  a  place  for  a  fort, 
bless  it  with  their  holy  water,  and  their  moppings  and  their  scour- 
ings,  and  the  rest  of  it,  to  purify  it  from  the  stain  of  heretic  do- 
minion ;  but  in  the  meanwhile  one  of  the  Courtenays, — a  Courte- 
nay  of  Haccombe,  was  it  ? — or  a  Courtenay  of  Boconnock  ? 
Silence,  Will,  I  shall  have  it  in  a  minute — yes,  a  Courtenay  of 
Haccombe  it  was,  lying  at  anchor  near  by,  in  a  ship  of  war  of  his, 
cuts  out  the  three  ships,  and  cuts  off  the  Dons  from  the  sea.  John 
and  James  Desmond,  with  some  small  rabble,  go  over  to  the 
Spaniards;  Earl  Desmond  will  not  join  them,  but  will  not  fight 
them,  and  stands  by  to  take  the  winning  side  ;  and  then  in  comes 
poor  Davils,  sent  down  by  the  Lord  Deputy  to  charge  Desmond 
and  his  brothers,  in  the  Queen's  name,  to  assault  the  Spaniards. 
Folks  say  it  was  rash  of  his  Lordship  :  but  I  say,  what  could  be 
better  done  ?  Every  one  knows  that  there  never  was  a  stouter  or 
shrewder  soldier  than  Davils  ;  and  the  young  Desmonds,  I  have 
heard  him  say  many  a  time,  used  to  look  on  him  as  their  father. 
But  he  found  out  what  it  was  to  trust  Englishmen  turned  Irish. 
Well,  the  Desmonds  found  out  on  a  sudden  that  the  Dons  were 
such  desperate  Paladins,  that  it  was  madness  to  meddle,  though 
they  were  five  to  one  ;  and  poor  Davils,  seeing  that  there  wag 
no  fight  in  them,  goes  back  for  help,  and  sleeps  that  night   at 


WESTiVARD  HOI  85 

some  place  called  Tralee.  Arthur  Carter  of  Eideford,  St.  Leger's 
lieutenant,  as  stout  an  old  soldier  as  Davils  himself,  sleeps  in 
the  same  bed  with  him  ;  the  lacquey-boy,  who  is  now  with  Sir 
Richard  at  Stow,  on  the  floor  at  their  feet.  But  in  the  dead  ot 
night,  who  should  come  in  but  James  Desmond,  sword  in  hand, 
with  a  dozen  of  his  ruffians  at  his  heels,  each  with  his  glib  over 
his  ugly  face,  and  his  skenein  his  hand.  Davils  springs  up  in  bed, 
and  asks  but  this,  •  What  is  the  matter,  my  son  .''  '  whereon  the 
treacherous  villain,  without  giving  him  time  to  say  a  prayer, 
strikes  at  him,  naked  as  he  was,  crying,  '  Thou  shalt  be  my  father 
no  longer,  nor  I  thy  son  !  Thou  shalt  die  !  '  and  at  that  all  the 
rest  fall  on  him.  The  poor  little  lad  (so  he  says)  leaps  up  to  cover 
his  master  with  his  naked  body,  gets  three  or  four  stabs  of  skenes, 
and  so  falls  for  dead  ;  with  his  master  and  Captain  Carter,  who 
were  dead  indeed — God  reward  them  !  After  that  the  ruffians  ran- 
sacked the  house,  till  they  had  murdered  every  Englishmen  in  it, 
the  lacquey-boy  only  excepted,  who  crawled  out,  wounded  as  he 
was,  through  a  window  ;  while  Desmond,  if  you  will  believe  it, 
went  back,  up  to  his  elbows  in  blood,  and  vaunted  his  deeds  to 
the  Spaniards,  and  asked  them — '  There  !  Will  you  take  that  as 
a  pledge  that  I  am  faithful  to  you  ?  '  And  that,  my  lad,  was  the 
end  of  Henry  Davils,  and  will  be  of  all  who  trust  to  the  faith  oi 
wild  savages." 

"  I  would  go  a  hundred  miles  to  see  that  Desmond  hanged  !  " 
said  Amyas,  while  great  tears  ran  down  his  face.  *'  Poor  Mr. 
Davils  !     And  now,  what  is  the  story  of  Sir  Thomas  1 " 

"  Your  brother  must  tell  you  that,  lad  ;  I  am  somewhat  out  of 
breath." 

"  And  I  have  a  right  to  tell  it,"  said  Frank,  with  a  smile  '•  Do 
you  know  that  I  was  very  near  being  Earl  of  the  bog  ol  Allen, 
and  one  of  the  peers  of  the  realm  to  King  Buoncompagna,  son  and 
heir  to  his  Holiness  Pope  Gregory  the  Thirteenth  ?  " 

"  No,  surely  !  " 

"  As  I  am  a  gentleman.  W^hen  I  was  at  Rome  I  saw  poor 
Stukely  often  ;  and  this  and  more  he  offered  me  on  the  part  (as  he 
said)  of  the  Pope,  if  I  would  just  oblige  him  in  the  two  little  matters 
of  being  reconciled  to  the  Catholic  Church,  and  joining  the  inva- 
sion of  Ireland." 

•'  Poor  deluded  heretic,"  said  Will  Cary,  "to  have  lost  an  earl- 
dom  for  your  family  by  such  silly  scruples  of  loyalty  ! " 

"  It  is  not  a  matter  for  jesting,  after  all,"  said  Frank  ;  "  but  I 
saw  Sir  Thomas  often,  and  I  cannot  believe  he  was  in  his  senses. 
so  frantic  was  his  vanity  and  his  ambition  ;  and  all  the  while,  in 
private  matters  as  honorable  a  gentleman  as  ever.  However,  he 
sailed  at  last  for  Ireland,  with  his  eight  hundred  Spaniards  and 
Italians  ;  and  what  is  more,  I  know  that  the  King  of  Spain  paid 
their  charges.  Marquis  Vinola — James  Buoncompagna,  that  is 
— stayed  quietly  at  Rome,  preferring  that  Stukely  should  conquer 
his  paternal  heritage  of  Ireland  for  him  while  he  took  care  of  the 
bona  robas  at  home.     I  went  down  to  Civita  Vecchia  to  see  him 


8(S  -^  WESTWARD  HO  I 

off;  and  though  his  younger  by  many  years,  I  could  not  but  take 
the  liberty  of  entreating  him,  as  a  gentleman  and  a  man  of  Devon, 
to  consider  his  faith  to  his  queen  and  the  honor  of  his  country. 
There  were  high  words  between  us  ;  God  forgive  me  if  I  spoke  too 
fiercely,  for  I  never  saw  him  again." 

"  Too  fiercely  to  an  open  traitor,  Frank  ?  Why  not  have  run 
him  through  ?  " 

"  Nay,  1  had  no  clean  life  for  Sundays,  Amyas  ;  so  I  could  no<- 
throw  away  my  week-day  one  ;  and  as  for  the  weal  of  England,  I 
Knew  that  it  was  little  he  would  damage  it,  and  told  him  so.  And. 
at  that  he  waxed  utterly  mad,  for  it  touched  his  pride,  and  swore  that 
if  the  wind  had  not  been  fair  for  sailing,  he  would  have  fought  me 
there  and  then  ;  to  which  I  could  only  answer,  that  I  was  ready  to 
meet  him  when  he  would  ;  and  he  parted  from  me,  saying,  '  It  is 
a  pity,  sir,  I  cannot  fight  you  now  ;  when  next  we  meet,  it  will  be 
beneath  my  dignity  to  measure  swords  with  you.' " 

"  I  suppose  he  expected  to  come  back  a  prince  at  least — Heaven 
knows  ;  I  owe  him  no  ill-will,  nor  1  hope  does  any  man.  He  has 
paid  all  debts  now  in  full,  and  got  his  receipt  for  them." 

"  How  did  he  die,  then,  after  all  ?  " 

"On  his  voyage  he  touched  in  Portugal.  King  Sebastian  was 
just  sailing  for  Africa  with  his  new  ally,  Mohammed  the  Prince  of 
Fez,  to  help  King  Abdallah,  and  conquer  what  he  could.  He  per- 
suaded Stukely  to  go  with  him.  There  vrere  those  who  thought 
that  he  as  well  as  the  Spaniards,  had  no  stomach  for  seeing  the 
Pope's  son  King  of  Ireland.  Others  used  to  say  that  he  thought 
an  island  too  small  for  his  ambition,  and  must  needs  conquer  a 
continent — I  know  not  why  it  was,  but  he  went.  They  had  heavy 
weather  in  the  passage  ;  and  when  they  landed,  many  of  their 
soldiers  were  sea-sick.  Stukely,  reasonably  enough,  counselled 
that  they  should  wait  two  or  three  days  and  recruit  ;  but  Don 
Sabastian  was  so  mad  for  the  assault  that  he  must  needs  have:his 
veni,  vidi,  vici ;  and  so  ended  with  a  ve7ii,  vidi,  perii  ;  for  he, 
Abdallah,  and  his  son  Mohammed,  all  perished  in  the  first  battle  at 
Alcasar  ;  and  Stukely,  surrounded  and  overpowered,  fought  till  he 
could  fight  no  more,  and  then  died  like  a  hero  with  all  his  wounds 
in  front ;  and  may  God  have  mercy  on  his  soul  !  " 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  we  heard  of  that  battle  off  Lima,  buv 
nothing  about  poor'Stukely." 

"  That  last  was  a  Popish  prayer.  Master  Frank,"  said  old  Mr. 
Gary. 

"  Most  worshipful  sir,  you  surely  would  not  wish  God  not  to 
have  mercy  on  his  soul  ?  " 

"  No — eh  ?  Of  course  not  :  but  that's  all  settled  by  now,  for  he 
is  dead,  poor  fellow." 

"  Certainly,  my  dear  sir.  And  you  cannot  help  being  a  little 
fond  of  him  still." 

"  Eh  ?  why,  I  should  be  a  brute  if  I  were  not.  He  and  I  were 
schoolfellows,  though  he  was  somewhat  the  younger  ;  and  many 
-a  good  thrashing  have  I  given  him,  and  one  cannot  help  having  s- 


WESTWARD  HO  !  87 

tenderness  for  a  man  after  that.  Beside,  we  used  to  hunt  together 
in  Exmoor,  and  have  royal  nights  afterward  into  Ilfracombe,  when 
we  were  a  couple  of  mad  young  blades.  Fond  of  him  ?  Why,  I 
would  have  sooner  given  my  forefinger  than  that  he  should  have 
gone  to  the  dogs  thus." 

"Then  my  dear  sir,  if  you  feel  for  him  still,  in  spite  of  all  his 
faults,  how  do  you  know  that  God  may  not  feel  for  him  still,  in 
spite  of  all  his  faults  ?  For  my  part,"  quoth  Frank  in  his  fanciful 
way,  "without  believing  in  that  Popish  Purgatory,  I  cannot  help 
holding  with  Plato,  that  such  heroical  souls,  who  have  wanted  but 
little  of  true  greatness,  are  hereafter  by  some  strait  discipline 
brought  to  a  better  mind  ;  perhaps,  as  many  ancients  have  held 
with  the  Indian  Gymnosophists,  by  transmigration  into  the  bodies 
of  those  animals  whom  they  have  resembled  in  their  passions ; 
and  indeed,  if  Sir  Thomas  Stukely's  soul  should  now  animate  the 
body  of  a  lion,  all  I  can  say  is  that  he  would  be  a  very  valiant  and 
royal  lion  ;  and  also  doubtless  become  in  due  time  heartily  ashamed 
and  penitent  for  having  been  nothing  better  than  a  lion." 

"  What  now.  Master  Frank  ?  I  don't  trouble  my  head  with 
such  matters — I  say  Stukley  was  a  right  good-hearted  fellow  at 
bottom  ;  and  if  you  plague  my  head  with  any  of  your  dialectics, 
and  propositions,  and  college  quips  and  quiddities,  you  shan't 
have  any  more  sack,  sir.  But  here  come  the  knaves,  and  I  hear 
the  cook  knock  to  dinner." 

After  a  madrigal  or  two,  and  an  Italian  song  of  Master  Frank's, 
all  which  went  sweetly  enough,  the  ladies  rose,  and  went.  Where- 
on Will  Gary,  drawing  his  chair  close  to  Frank's,  put  quietly  into 
his  hand  a  dirty  letter. 

"  This  was  the  letter  left  for  me,"  whispered  he,  "  by  a  country 
fellow  this  morning.     Look  at  it  and  tell  me  what  I  am  to  do." 

Whereon  Frank  opened  and  read — 

*'  Mister  Cary,  be  you  waiy 
By  dear  park  end  to-night. 
Yf  Irish  £Eoxe  com  out  of  rocks 
Grip  and  hold  hyra  tight." 

«« I  would  have  showed  it  my  father,"  said  Will,  "  but 

••  I  verily  believe  it  to  be  a  blind.  See  now,  this  is  the  hand- 
writing of  a  man  who  has  been  trying  to  write  vilely,  and  yet  can- 
not. Look  at  that  B,  and  that  G  ;  their  formes  formativcs  never 
were  begotten  in  a  hedge-school.  And  what  is  more,  this  is  no 
Devon  man's  handiwork.  We  say  *  to  *  and  not  *  by,'  Will,  eh  ? 
in  the  West  country  ?  " 

"Of  course." 

"  And  '  man,'  instead  of  •  him  ?  " 

«'  True,  O  Daniel !     But  am  I  to  do  nothing  therefore  ?" 

'*  On  that  matter  I  am  no  judge.  Let  us  ask  much-enduring 
Ulysses  here  ;  perhaps  he  has  not  sailed  round  the  world  without 
bringing  home  a  device  or  two. " 

Wncreon  Amyas  was  called  to  counsel,  as  soon  as  Mr.  Caiy 


BS  WESTWARD  nor 

cowld  be  stopped  in  a  long  cross-examination  of  him  as  to  Mr. 
Doughty 's  famous  trial  and  execution. 

Amyas  pondered  awhile,  thrusting  his  hands  into  his  long  curls  ; 
and  then — 

"  Will,  my  lad,  have  you  been  watching  at  the  Deer  Park  End 
of  late  ?" 

"  Never." 

"Where,  then?" 

•*  At  the  town-beach." 

"  Where  else  ?  " 

••  At  the  town-head." 

*•  Where  else  }" 

•'  Why,  the  fellow  is  turned  lawyer !     Above  Freshwater." 

**  Where  is  Freshwater  ?  " 

"  Why,  where  the  water-fall  comes  over  the  cliff,  half-a-mile 
ttora  the  town.     There  is  a  path  there  up  into  the  forest." 

**  I  know.  I'll  watch  there  to-night.  Do  you  keep  all  your  old 
haunts  safe,  of  course,  and  send  a  couple  of  stout  knaves  to  the 
mill,  to  watch  the  beach  at  the  Deer  Park  End,  on  the  chance  ; 
for  your  poet  may  be  a  true  man,  after  all.  But  my  heart's  faith 
is,  that  this  comes  just  to  draw  you  off  from  some  old  beat  of 
yours,  upon  a  wild-goose  chase.  If  they  shoot  the  miller  by  mis. 
take,  I  suppose  it  don't  much  matter  ?  " 

"  Marry  no, 

*'  *  When  a  miller's  knock'd  on  the  head, 

The  less  of  flour  makes  the  more  of  bread.*  " 

"Or,  again,"  chimed  in  old  Mr.  Cary,  "as  they  say  in  the 
North — 

"  '  Find  a  miller  that  will  not  steal, 
Or  a  Webster  that  is  leal, 
Or  a  priest  that  is  not  greedy, 
And  lay  them  three  a  dead  corpse  by ; 
And  by  the  virtue  of  them  three, 
The  said  dead  corpse  shall  quicken'd  be.'  " 

"  But  why  are  you  so  ready  to  watch  Freshwater  to-night,  Mas- 
ter Amyas  ?  " 

"  Because,  sir,  those  who  come,  if  they  come,  will  never  land  at 
Mouthmill  ;  if  they  are  strangers,  they  dare  not  ;  and  if  they  are 
bays'-men,  they  are  too  wise,  as  long  as  the  westerly  swell  sets  in. 
As  for  landing  at  the  town,  that  would  be  too  great  a  risk  ;  but 
Freshwater  is  as  lonely  as  the  Bermudas  ;  and  they  can  beach  a 
boat  up  under  the  cliffs  at  all  tides,  and  in  all  weathers,  except 
north  and  nor'-west.  I  have  done  it  many  a  time  when  I  was  a 
boy." 

"And  give  us  the  fruit  of  your  experience  now  in  your  old  age, 
eh  ?  Well,  vou  have  a  gray  head  on  green  shoulders,  my  lad  ; 
and  I  verily  believe  you  are  right.  Who  will  vou  take  with  vou 
to  watch  ?^;  •  ^ 

"Sir,"  said  Frank,  "  I  will  go  with  my  brother:  and  that  will 
be  enough." 


WESTWARD  HO  t  %^ 

**  Enoug^h  ?     He  is  big  enough,  and  you  brave  enough,  for  ten ; 

but  still,  the  more  the  merrier." 

"  But  the  fewer,  the  better  fare.  If  I  might  ask  a  first  and  last 
favor,  worshipful   sir,"  said  Frank,  very  earnestly,    "  you  would 

frant  me  two  things  :  that  you  would  let  none  go  to  Freshwater 
ut  me  and  my  brother  ;  and  that  whatsoever  we  shall  bring  you 
b'xck  shall  be  kept  as  secret  as  the  commonweal  and  your  loyalty 
thall  permit.  I  trust  that  we  are  not  so  unknown  to  you,  or  tc 
others,  that  you  can  doubt  for  a  moment  but  that  whatsoever  we 
may  do  wijl  satisfy  at  once  your  honor  and  our  own." 

"  My  dear  young  gentleman,  there  is  no  need  of  so  many  court- 
ier's words.  I  am  your  father's  friend,  and  yours.  And  God  for- 
bid that  a  Cary — for  I  guess  your  drift — should  ever  wish  to  make 
a  head  or  a  heart  ache  ;  that  is,  more  than " 

"Those  of  whom  it  is  written,  'Though  thou  bray  a  fool  in  a 
mortar,  yet  will  Kot  his  folly  depart  from  him,'  "  interposed  Frank 
in  so  sad  a  tone  that  no  one  at  the  table  replied  ;  and  few  more 
words  were  exchanged,  till  the  two  brothers  were  safe  outside  the 
house ;  and  then — 

"  Amyas,"  said  Frank,  "  that  was  a  Devon  man's  handiwork, 
nevertheless  ;  it  was  Eustace's  handwriting." 

"  Impossible  ! " 

•*  No,  lad.  I  have  been  secretary  to  a  prince,  and  learnt  to  in- 
terpret cypher,  and  to  watch  every  pen-stroke  ;  and,  young  as  I 
am,  I  think  that  I  am  not  easily  deceived.  Would  God  I  were  ! 
Come  on,  lad  ;  and  strike  no  man  hastily  lest  thou  cut  off  thine 
own  flesh." 

So  forth  the  two  went,  along  the  park  to  the  eastward,  and  past 
the  head  of  the  little  wood-embosomed  fishing-town,  a  steep  stair 
of  houses  clinging  to  the  cliff  far  below  them,  the  bright  slate  roofs 
and  white  walls  glittering  in  the  moonlight  ;  and  on  some  half- 
mile  farther,  along  the  steep  hill-side,  fenced  with  oak  wood  down 
to  the  water's  edge,  by  a  narrow  forest  path,  to  a  point  where  two 
glens  meet  and  pour  their  streamlets  over  a  cascade  some  hun- 
dred feet  in  height  into  the  sea  below.  By  the  side  of  this  water, 
fall  a  narrow  path  climbs  upward  from  the  beach  ;  and  here  it 
was  that  the  two  brothers  expected  to  meet  the  messenger. 

Frank  insisted  on  taking  his  station  below  Amyas.  He  said 
that  he  was  certain  that  Eustace  himself  would  make  his  appear- 
ance, and  that  he  was  more  fit  than  Amyas  to  bring  him  to  reason 
by  parley  ;  that  if  Amyas  would  keep  watch  some  twenty  yards 
above,  the  escape  of  the  messenger  would  be  impossible.  More- 
over, he  was  the  elder  brother,  and  the  post  of  honor  was  his 
right.  So  Amyas  obeyed  him,  after  making  him  promise  that  i( 
more  than  one  man  came  up  the  path,  he  would  let  them  pass  him 
before  he  challenged,  so  that  both  might  bring  them  to  bay  at  the 
same  time. 

So  Amyas  took  his  station  under  a  high  marl  bank,  and,  bedded 
in  luxuriant  crown-ferns,  kept  his  eye  steadily  on  Frank,  who  sa| 
down  on  a  little  knoll  of  rock  (where  is  now  a  garden  on  the  cliff 


go  WESTWARD  HOt 

edge)  which  parts  the  path  and  the  dark  chasm  down  which  the 
stream  rushes  to  its  final  leap  over  the  cliff. 

There  Amyas  sat  a  full  half-hour,  and  glanced  at  whiles  from 
Frank  to  look  upon  the  scene  around.  Outside  the  southwest 
wind  blew  fresh  and  strong,  and  the  moonlight  danced  upon  a 
thousand  crests  of  foam  ;  but  within  the  black  jagged  point  which 
sheltered  the  town,  the  sea  did  but  heave,  in  long  oily  swells  ot 
rolling  silver,  onward  into  the  black  shadow  of  the  hills,  within 
which  the  town  and  pier  lay  invisible,  save  where  a  twinkling 
light  gave  token  of  some  lonely  fisher's  wife,  watching  the  weary 
night  through  for  the  boat  which  would  return  with  dawn.  Here 
and  there  upon  the  sea,  a  black  speck  marked  a  herring-boat, 
drifting  with  its  line  of  nets  ;  and  right  off  the  mouth  of  the  glen, 
Amyas  saw,  with  a  beating  heart,  a  large  two-masted  vessel  lying- 
to~that  must  be  the  "  Portugal  !  "  Eagerly  he  looked  up  the  glen 
and  listened  ;  but  he  heard  nothing  but  the  sweeping  of  the  wind 
across  the  downs  five  hundred  feet  above,  and  the  sough  of  the 
waterfall  upon  the  rocks  below  ;  he  saw  nothing  but  the  vast 
black  sheets  of  oakwood  sloping  up  to  the  narrow  blue  sky  above, 
and  the  broad  bright  hunter's  moon,  and  the  woodcocks,  which,, 
chuckling  to  each  other,  hawked  to  and  fro,  like  swallows,  be- 
tween the  tree-tops  and  the  sky. 

At  last  he  heard  a  rustle  of  the  fallen  leaves  ;  he  shrank  closer 
and  closer  into  the  darkness  of  the  bank.  Then  swift  light  steps 
— not  down  the  path,  from  above,  but  upward,  from  below  ;  his 
heart  beat  quick  and  loud.  And  in  another  half-minute  a  man 
came  in  sight,  within  three  yards  of  Frank's  hiding-place. 

Frank  sprang  out  instantly.  Amyas  saw  his  bright  blade  glance 
in  the  clear  October  moonlight. 

•'  Stand  in  the  queen's  name  !  " 

The  man  drew  a  pistol  from  under  his  cloak,  and  fired  full  in 
his  face.  Had  it  happened  in  these  days  of  detonators,  Frank's 
chance  had  been  small  ;  but  to  get  a  ponderous  wheel-lock  under 
weigh  was  a  longer  business,  and  before  the  fizzing  of  the  flint  had 
ceased,  Frank  had  struck  up  the  pistol  with  his  rapier,  and  it  ex- 
ploded harmlessly  over  his  head.  The  man  instantly  dashed  the 
weapon  in  his  face  and  closed. 

The  blow,  luckily,  did  not  take  effect  on  that  delicate  forehead, 
but  struck  him  on  the  shoulder  :  nevertheless,  Frank,  who  with 
all  his  grace  and  agility  was  as  fragile  as  a  lily,  and  a  very  bubble 
of  the  earth,  staggered,  and  lost  his  guard,  and  before  he  could 
recover  himself,  Amyas  saw  a  dagger  gleam,  and  one,  two,  three 
biows  fiercely  reoeated. 

Mad  with  fury,  he  was  with  them  in  an  mstant.  They  were 
scuffling  together  so  closely  in  the  shade  that  he  was  afraid  to  use 
his  sword  point ;  but  with  the  hilt  he  dealt  a  single  blow  lull  on 
the  ruffian's  cheek.  It  was  enough  ;  with  a  hideous  shriek,  the 
fellow  rolled  over  at  his  feet,  and  Amyas  set  his  foot  on  him,  itf 
jLCt  to  run  him  through. 


WEST  WARD  HO.  9 1 

•  -  Stop  !  stay  !  "  almost  screamed  Frank  ;  "  it  is  Eustace  !  our 
£0usin  Eustace  !  "  and  he  leant  against  a  tree. 

Amyas  sprang  towards  him  :  but  Frank  waved  him  off. 

"It 'is  nothing— a  scratch.  He  has  papers:  I  am  sure  of  it 
Take  them  ;  and  for  God's  sake  let  him  go  !  " 

"Villain!  give  me  your  papers!"  cried  Amyas,  setting  his 
foot  once  more  on  the  writhing  Eustace,  whose  jaw  was  broken 

across.     "  ,   ,       1  •  • 

"  You  struck  me  foully  from  behind,"  moaned  he,  his  vanity 
and  envy  even  then  coming  out,  in  that  faint  and  foolish  attempt 
to  prove  Amyas  not  so  very  much  better  a  man. 

"  Hound,  do  you  think  that  I  dare  not  strike  you  in  front  ? 
Give  me  your  papers,  letters,  whatever  Popish  devilry  you  carry  ; 
or  as  I  live,  I  will  cut  off  your  head,  and  take  them  myself,  even 
if  it  cost  me  the  shame  of  stripping  your  corpse.  Give  them  up  ! 
Traitor,  murderer  !  give  them,  I  say  !  "  And  setting  his  foot  on 
him  afresh,  he  raised  his  sword. 

Eustace  was  usually  no  craven  :  but  he  was  cowed.  Between 
agony  and  shame,  he  had  no  heart  to  resist.  Martyrdom,  which 
looked  so  splendid  when  consummated  selo7i  les  regies  on  Tower 
Hill  or  Tyburn,  before  pitying,  or  (still  better)  scoffing  multi- 
tudes, looked  a  confused,  dirty,  ugly  business  there  in  the  dark 
forest  ;  and  as  he  lay,  a  stream  of  moonlight  bathed  his  mighty 
cousin's  broad  clear  forehead,  and  his  long  golden  locks,  and  his 
white  terrible  blade,  till  he  seemed,  to  Eustace's  superstitious 
eye,  like  one  of  those  fair  young  St.  Michaels  trampling  on  the 
fiend,  which  he  had  seen  abroad  in  old  German  pictures.  He 
shuddered  ;  pulled  a  packet  from  his  bosom,  and  threw  it  from 
him,  murmuring,  "  I  have  not  given  it." 

"Swear  to  me  that  these  are  all  the  papers  which  you  have  in 
cipher  or  out  of  cipher.     Swear  on  your  soul,  or  you  die  !  " 

Eustace  swore. 

"  Tell  me,  who  are  your  accomplices  ?  " 

"  Never  !  "  said  Eustace.  "  Cruel  !  have  you  not  degraded  me 
enough  already  ?  "  and  the  wretched  young  man  burst  into  tears, 
and  hid  his  bleeding  face  in  his  hands. 

One  hint  of  honor  made  Amyas  as  gentle  as  a  lamb.  He  lifted 
Eustace  up,  and  bade  him  run  for  his  life. 

"  I  am  to  owe  my  life,  then,  to  you  ?  ' 

«•  Not  in  the  least ;  only  to  your  being  a  Leigh.  Go,  or  it  will 
be  worse  for  you  !  "  And  Eustace  went ;  while  Amyas,  catching 
up  the  precious  packet,  hurried  to  Frank.  He  had  fainted  al- 
ready, and  his  brother  had  to  carry  him  as  far  as  the  park  before 
he  could  find  any  of  the  other  watchers.  The  blind,  as  far  as 
they  were  concerned,  was  complete.  They  had  heard  and  seen 
nothing.  Whosoever  had.  brought  the  packet  had  landed  they 
knew  not  where  ;  and  so  all  returned  to  the  Court,  carrying  Frank, 
vvrho  recovered  gradually,  having  rather  bruises  than  wounds  ;  for 
his  foe  had  struck  wildly,  and  with  a  trembling-  hand. 

Half-an-hour  after,  Amy:is,  Mr.  Gary,  and  his  son  Will  were  in 


9f  WESTIVARD  HO  f 

deep  consultation  over  the  following  epistle,  the  only  paper  in  the 

packet  which  was  not  in  cipher  : — 

"  t  Dear  Brother  N.    S.  in  Chto.  et  Ecclesia. 

"  This  is  to  inform  you  and  the  friends  of  the  cause,  that  S. 
Josephus  has  landed  in  Smerwick,  with  eight  hundred  valiant 
Crusaders,  burning  with  holy  zeal  to  imitate  last  year's  martyrs  oi 
Carrigfolium,  and  to  expiate  their  offences  (which  I  fear  may  have 
been  many)  by  the  propagation  of  our  most  holy  faith.  I  have 
purified  the  fort  (which  they  are  strenuously  rebuilding)  with 
prayer  and  holy  water,  from  the  stain  of  heretical  footsteps,  and 
consecrated  it  afresh  to  the  service  of  Heaven,  as  the  first-fruits 
of  the  isle  of  saints  ;  and  having  displayed  the  consecrated  banner 
to  the  adoration  of  the  faithful,  have  returned  to  Earl  Desmond, 
that  I  may  establish  his  faith,  weak  as  yet,  by  reason  of  the  allure- 
ments of  this  world  :  though  since,  by  the  valor  ot  his  brother 
James,  he  that  hindered  was  taken  out  of  the  way  (I  mean  Davila 
the  heretic,  sacrifice  well-pleasing  in  the  eyes  of  Heaven  !),  the 
young  man  has  lent  a  more  obedient  ear  to  my  counsels.  If  you 
can  do  anything,  do  it  quickly,  for  a  great  door  and  effectual  is 
opened,  and  there  are  many  adversaries.  But  be  swift,  for  so  do 
the  poor  lambs  of  the  Church  tremble  at  the  fury  of  the  heretics, 
that  a  hundred  will  flee  before  one  Englishman.  And  indeed, 
were  it  not  for  that  divine  charity  toward  the  Church  (which 
covers  the  multitude  of  sins)  with  which  they  are  resplendent, 
neither  they  nor  their  country  would  be,  by  the  carnal  judgment, 
counted  worthy  ot  so  great  labor  in  their  behalf  For  they  them, 
selves  are  given  much  to  lying,  theft,  and  drunkenness,  vain  bab- 
bling, and  profane  dancing  and  singing  ;  and  are  still,  as  S.  Gildas 
reports  of  them,  'more  careful  to  shroud  their  villainous  faces  in 
bushy  hair,  than  decently  to  cover  their  bodies  ;  while  their  land 
(by  reason  of  the  tyranny  of  their  chieftains,  and  the  continual 
wars  and  plunderings  among  their  tribes,  which  leave  them  weak 
and  divided,  an  easy  prey  to  the  myrmidons  of  the  excommunicate 
and  usurping  Englishwoman)  lies  utterly  waste  with  fire,  and  de- 
faced with  corpses  of  the  starved  and  slain.  But  what  are  these 
things,  while  the  holy  virtue  of  Catholic  obedience  still  flourishes 
in  their  hearts  ?  The  Church  cares  not  for  the  conservation  of 
body  and  goods,  but  of  immortal  souls. 

"  If  any  devout  lady  shall  so  will,  you  may  obtain  from  her  liber- 
ality a  shirt  for  this  worthless  tabernacle,  and  also  a  pair  of  hose  ; 
for  I  am  unsavory  to  myself  and  to  others,  and  of  such  luxuries 
none  here  has  superfluity  ;  for  all  live  in  holy  poverty,  except  the 
flees,  who  have  that  consolation  in  this  world  for  which  this  un- 
happy  nation,  and  those  who  labor  among  them,  must  wait  till  the 
world  to  come.* 

"Your  loving  brother, 

"N.S." 

♦  Sm  n*te  at  end  of  chapter. 


WESTWARD  not 


93 


"  Sir  Richard  must  know  of  this  before  daybreak,"  cried  old 
Cary.  "  Eight  hundred  men  landed  !  We  must  call  out  the  Posse 
Comitatus,  and  sail  with  them  bodily.  I  will  go  myself,  old  as  I 
am.  Spaniards  in  Ireland  ?  not  a  dog  of  them  must  go  home 
again." 

"  Not  a  dog  of  them,"  answered  Will  ;  "  but  where  is  Mr. 
Winter  and  his  squadron  ?  " 

"Safe  in  Milford  Haven;  a  messenger  must  be  sent  to  him 
too." 

"  I'll  go,"  said  Amyas  :  "  but  Mr.  Cary  is  right.  Sir  Richard 
must  know  all  first." 

"  And  we  must  have  those  Jesuits." 

"  What  ?  Mr.  Evans  and  Mr.  Morgans  ?  God  help  us — they 
are  at  my  uncle's  !     Consider  the  honor  of  our  family  !  " 

"Judge  for  yourself,  my  dear  boy,"  said  old  Mr.  Cary  gently : 
'•  would  it  not  be  rank  treason  to  let  these  foxes  escape,  while  we 
have  this  damning  proof  against  them  ?  " 

"  I  will  go  myself,  then.' 

•*  Why  not  ?  You  may  keep  all  straight,  and  Will  shall  go  with 
you.  Call  a  groom,  Will,  and  get  your  horse  saddled,  and  my 
Yorkshire  gray  ;  he  will  make  better  play  with  this  big  fellow  on 
his  back,  than  the  little  pony  astride  of  which  Mr.  Leigh  came 
walking  in  (as  I  hear)  this  morning.  As  for  Frank,  the  ladies  will 
see  to  him  well  enough,  and  glad  enough,  too,  to  have  so  fine  a 
bird  in  their  cage  for  a  v/eek  or  two." 

"  And  my  mother  ?  " 

"  We'll  send  to  her  to-morrow  by  daybreak.  Come,  a  stirrup 
cup  to  start  with,  hot  and  hot.  Now,  boots,  cloaks,  swords,  a 
deep  pull  and  a  warm  one,  and  away  !  " 

And  the  jolly  old  man  bustled  them  out  of  the  house  and  into 
their  saddles,  under  the  broad  bright  winter's  moon. 

"  You  must  make  your  pace,  lads,  or  the  moon  will  be  down  be- 
fore you  are  over  the  moors."     And  so  away  they  went. 

Neither  of  them  spoke  for  many  a  mile.  Amyas,  because  his 
mind  was  fixed  firmly  on  the  one  object  of  saving  the  honor  of  his 
house  ;  and  Will,  because  he  was  hesitating  between  Ireland  and 
the  wars,  and  Rose  Salterne  and  love-making.  At  last  he  spoke 
suddenly. 

"I'll  go,  Amyas." 

"  Whither  ?  " 

"  To  Ireland  with  you,  old  man.  I  have  dragged  my  anchor  at 
Jast." 

"  What  anchor,  my  lad  of  parables  ?  " 

"  See,  here  am  I,  a  tall  and  gallant  ship." 

"  Modest  even  if  not  true." 

*' Inclination,  like  an  anchor,  holds  me  tight." 

"To  the  mud." 

"  Nay,  to  a  bed  of  roses — not  without  their  thorns." 

"  Hillo  !  I  have  seen  oysters  grow  on  fruit-trees  before  now,  hni 
never  an  anchor  in  a  rose-garden." 


^4  tVESTtVARD  HO  t 

"  Silence,  or  my  allegory  will  go  to  noggin-staves.** 

"  Against  the  rocks  of  my  flinty  discernment." 

"  Pooh — well.  Up  comes  duty  like  a  jolly  breeze,  blowing 
dead  from  the  north-east,  and  as  bitter  and  cross  as  a  north-easter 
too,  and  tugs  me  away  toward  Ireland.  I  hold  on  by  the  rose-bed 
—any  ground  in  a  storm — till  every  strand  is  parted,  and  off  I  go, 
westward  ho  !  to  get  my  throat  cut  in  a  bog-hole  with  Amyas 
Leigh." 

"  Earnest,  Will  ?  " 

"  As  I  am  a  sinful  man." 

•♦  Well  done,  young  hawk  of  the  White  Cliff  !  " 

"I  had  rather  have  called  it  Gallantry  Bower  still,  though,'* 
said  Will,  punning  on  the  double  name  of  the  noble  precipice 
which  forms  the  highest  point  of  the  deer  park. 

"Well,  as  long  as  you  are  on  land,  you  know  it  is  Gallantry 
Bower  still:  but  we  always  call  it  White  Cliff  when  you  see  it 
from  the  sea-board,  as  you  and  I  shall  do,  I  hope,  to-morrow 
evening." 

"  What,  so  soon  .^  " 

"  Dare  we  lose  a  day  ?  " 

"  I  suppose  not :  heigh-ho  !  " 

And  they  rode  on  again  in  silence,  Amyas  in  the  meanwhile 
being  not  a  little  content  (in  spite  of  his  late  self-renunciation)  to 
find  that  one  of  his  rivals  at  least  was  going  to  raise  the  siege  oi 
the  Rose  garden  for  a  few  months,  and  withdraw  his  forces  to  the 
coast  of  Kerry. 

As  they  went  over  Bursdon,  Amyas  nulled  up  suddenly. 

"  Did  you  not  hear  a  horse's  step  on  our  left  ?  " 

"  On  our  left — coming  up  from  Welsford  moor  ?  Impossible  at 
this  time  of  night.  It  must  have  been  a  stag,  or  a  sownder  of 
wild  swine  :  or  may  be  only  an  old  cow." 

"  It  was  the  ring  of  iron,  friend.     Let  us  stand  and  watch." 

Bursdon  and  Welsford  were  then,  as  now,  a  rolling  range  of 
dreary  moors,  unbroken  by  tor  or  tree,  or  anything  save  few  and 
far  between  a  world-old  furze-bank  which  marked  the  common 
rights  of  some  distant  cattle  farm,  and  crossed  then,  not  as  now, 
by  a  decent  road,  but  by  a  rough  confused  trackway,  the  remnant 
of  an  old  Roman  road  from  Clovelly  dikes  to  Launceston.  To  the 
left  it  trended  down  towards  a  lower  range  of  moors,  which  form, 
the  watershed  of  the  heads  of  Torridge  ;  and  thither  the  two 
young  men  peered  down  over  the  expanse  of  bog  and  furze,  which 
glittered  for  miles  beneath  the  moon,  one  sheet  ot  frosted  silver,  in 
the  heavy  autumn  dew. 

"  If  any  of  Eustace's  party  are  trying  to  get  home  from  Fresh- 
water, they  might  save  a  couple  of  miles  by  coming  across  Wels- 
ford, instead  of  going  by  the  main  track,  as  we  have  done."  So 
said  Amyas,  who  though  (luckiiy  for  him)  no  "genius,"  was  cun- 
ning as  a  fox  in  all  matters  of  tactic  and  practic,  and  would  have 
in  these  days  proved  his  right  to  be  considered  an  intellectuai  'per 
son  by  being  a  thorough  man  of  business. 


fTESTlVARD  HOI  t)^ 

**  If  any  of  his  party  are  mad,  they'll  try  it,  and  be  stooged  till 
the  day  of  judgment.  There  are  bogs  in  the  bottom  twenty  feeit 
deep.  Plague  on  the  fellow,  whoever  he  is,  he  has  dodged  us  I 
Look  there  !  " 

It  was  too  true.  The  unknown  horseman  had  evidently  dis- 
mounted below,  and  led  his  horse  up  on  the  other  side  of  a  long 
furze-dike  ;  till  coming  to  the  point  where  it  turned  away  again 
from  his  intended  course,  he  appeared  against  the  sky,  in  the  act 
of  leading  his  nag  over  a  gap. 

"  Ride  like  the  wind  !  "  and  both  youths  galloped  across  furze 
and  heather  at  him  ;  but  ere  they  were  within  a  hundred  yards  of 
him,  he  had  leapt  again  on  his  horse,  and  was  away  far  ahead. 

"  There  is  the  dor  to  us,  with  a  vengeance,"  cried  Gary,  putting 
in  the  spurs. 

'•  It  i3  but  a  lad  ;  we  shall  never  catch  him." 

"  I'll  try,  though  ;  and  do  you  lumber  after  as  you  can,  old 
heavysides  ;  "  and  Gary  pushed  forward. 

Amyas  lost  sight  of  him  for  ten  minutes,  and  then  came  up 
with  him  dismounted,  and  feeling  disconsolately  at  his  horse's 
knees. 

"  Look  for  my  head.  It  lies  som.ewhere  about  among  the  furze 
there  ;  and  oh  !  I  am  as  full  of  needles  as  ever  was  a  pin- 
cushion." 

"  Are  his  knees  broken  ?  * 

"I  daren't  look.  No,  I  believe  not.  Come  along,  and  make 
the  best  of  a  bad  matter.  The  fellow  is  a  mile  ahead,  and  to  the 
right,  too." 

"  He  is  going  for  Moorwinstow,  then  ;  but  where  is  my  cousin  ?  " 

"  Behind  us,  I  dare  say.     We  shall  nab  him  at  least." 

"  Gary,  promise  me  that  if  we  do,  you  will  keep  out  of  sight,  and 
let  me  manage  him." 

"  My  boy,  I  only  want  Evan  Morgans  and  Morgan  Evans.  He 
is  but  the  cat's  paw,  and  we  are  after  the  cats  themselves." 

And  so  they  went  on  another  dreary  six  miles,  till  the  land 
trended  downwards,  showing  dark  glens  and  masses  of  woodland 
far  below. 

*•  Now,  then,  straight  to  Chapel,  and  stop  the  foxes'  earth  ?  Or 
through  the  King's  Park  to  Stow,  and  get  out  Sir  Richard's  hounds, 
hue  and  cry,  and  queen's  warrant  in  proper  form  ?  " 

"  Let  us  see  Sir  Richard  first ;  and  whatsoever  he  decides  about 
my  uncle,  I  will  endure  as  a  loyal  subject  must." 

So  they  rode  through  the  King's  Park,  while  Sir  Richard's  colts 
came  whinnying  and  staring  round  the  intruders,  and  down 
through  a  rich  woodland  lane  five  hundred  feet  into  the  valley,  till 
they  could  hear  the  brawling  of  the  little  trout-stream,  and  beyond, 
ihe  everlasting  thunder  of  the  ocean  surf. 

Down  through  warm  woods,  all  fragrant  with  dying  autumn 
flowers,  leaving  far  above  the  keen  Atlantic  breeze,  into  one  of 
those  delicious  Western  Combes,  and  so  past  the  mill,  and  the 
little  knot  of  flower-clad  cottages.     In  the  window  of  one  of  them 


^6  IVESTWARD  HO! 

a  light  was  still  burning.  The  two  young  men  knew  well  whose 
window  that  was  ;  and  both  hearts  beat  fast  ;  for  Rose  Salterne 
slept,  or  rather  seemed  to  wake,  in  that  chamber. 

"  Folks  are  late  in  Combe  to-night,"  said  Amyas,  as  carelessly 
as  he  could. 

Gary  looked  earnestly  at  the  window,  and  then  sharply  enough 
at  Amyas  ;  but  Amyas  was  busy  settling  his  stirrup  ;  and  Car)' 
rode  on,  unconscious  that  every  fibre  in  his  companion's  huge 
frame  was  trembling  like  his  own. 

"  Muggy  and  close  down  here,"  said  Amyas,  who,  in  reality, 
was  quite  faint  with  his  own  inward  struggles. 

"We  shall  be  at  Stow  gate  in  five  minutes,"  said  Cary,  looking 
back  and  down  longingly  as  his  horse  climbed  the  opposite  hill  ; 
but  a  turn  of  the  zigzag  road  hid  the  cottage,  and  the  next  thought 
was,  how  to  effect  an  entrance  into  Stow  at  three  in  the  morning 
without  being  eaten  by  the  ban-dogs,  who  were  already  howling 
and  growling  at  the  sound  of  the  horse-hoofs. 

However,  they  got  safely  in,  after  much  knocking  and  calling, 
through  the  postern-gate  in  the  high  west  wall,  into  a  mansion, 
the  description  whereof  I  must  defer  to  the  next  chapter,  seeing 
that  the  moon  has  already  sunk  into  the  Atlantic,  and  there  is 
darkness  over  land  and  sea. 

Sir  Richard,  in  his  long  gown,  was  soon  downstairs  in  the  hall  ; 
the  letter  read,  and  the  story  told  ;  but  ere  it  was  half  finished — 

"  Anthony,  call  up  a  groom,  and  let  him  bring  me  a  horse 
round.  Gentlemen,  if  you  will  excuse  me  five  minutes,  I  shall  be 
at  your  service." 

"  You  will  not  go  alone,  Richard  ?  "  asked  Lady  Grenvile,  put- 
ting her  beautiful  face  in  its  nightcoif  out  of  an  adjoining  door. 

"  Surely,  sweet  chuck,  we  three  are  enough  to  take  two  poor 
polecats  of  Jesuits.     Go  in,  and  help  me  to  boot  and  gird." 

In  half  an  hour  they  were  down  and  up  across  the  valley  again, 
under  the  few  low  ashes  dipt  flat  by  the  sea-breeze  which  stood 
vound  the  lonely  gate  of  Chapel. 

"  Mr.  Cary,  there  is  a  back  path  across  the  downs  to  Marsland  ; 

fo  and  guard  that."  Cary  rode  off;  and  Sir  Richard,  as  he 
nocked  loudly  at  the  gate — 

"  Mr.  Leigh,  you  see  that  I  have  consulted  your  honor,  and  that 
of  your  poor  uncle,  by  adventuring  thus  alone.  What  will  you 
have  me  do  now,  which  may  not  be  unfit  for  me  and  you  .''  " 

"Oh,  sir!"  said  Amyas,  with  tears  in  his  honest  eyes,  "you 
have  shown  yourself  once  more  what  you  always  have  been — my 
dear  and  beloved  master  on  earth,  not  second  even  to  my  admiral 
Sir  Francis  Drake." 

"  Or  the  queen,  I  hope,"  said  Grenvile,  smiling,  "  but  pocas  pO' 
iabras.     What  will  you  do  ?  " 

"  My  wretched  cousin,  sir,  may  not  have  returned — and  if  I 
might  watch  for  b/m  on  the  main  road — unless  you  want  me  with 
vou." 


WESTWARD  HO!  97 

"  Richard  Grenvile  can  walk  alone,  lad.  But  what  will  you  do 
with  your  cousin  ?  " 

"  Send  him  out  of  the  country,  never  to  return  ;  or  if  he  refuses, 
run  him  through  on  the  spot." 

"  Go,  lad."  And  as  he  spoke,  a  sleepy  voice  asked  inside  the 
gate,  "  Who  was  there  ?  " 

"Sir  Richard  Grenvile.     Open,  in  the  queen's  name  !" 

"  Sir  Richard  .?  He  is  in  bed,  and  be  hanged  to  you.  No  honest, 
folk  come  at  this  hour  of  night." 

"  Amyas  !  "  shouted  Sir  Richard.     Amyas  rode  back. 

"  Burst  that  gate  for  me,  while  I  hold  your  horse." 

Amyas  leaped  down,  took  up  a  rock  from  the  roadside,  such  as 
Homer's  heroes  used  to  send  at  each  other's  heads,  and  in  an  in- 
stant the  door  was  flat  on  the  ground,  and  the  serving-man  on  his 
back  inside,  while  Sir  Richard  quietly  entering  over  it,  like  Una  into 
the  hut,  told  the  fellow  to  get  up  and  hold  his  horse  for  him  (which 
the  clod,  who  knew  well  enough  that  terrible  voice,  did  without 
further  murmurs),  and  then  strode  straight  to  the  front  door.  It 
was  already  opened.  The  household  had  been  up  and  about  all 
along,  or  the  noise  at  the  entry  had  aroused  them. 

Sir  Richard  knocked,  however,  at  the  open  door ;  and,  to  his 
astonishment,  his  knock  was  answered  by  Mr.  Leigh  himself,  fully 
dressed,  and  candle  in  hand. 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenvile  !  What,  sir  !  is  this  neighborly,  not  to 
say  gentle,  to  break  into  my  house  in  the  dead  of  night .'' " 

"I  broke  your  outer  door,  sir,  because  I  was  refused  entrance 
when  I  asked  in  the  queen's  name.  I  knocked  at  your  inner  one, 
as  I  should  have  knocked  at  the  poorest  cottager's  in  the  parish, 
because  I  found  it  open.  You  have  two  Jesuits  here,  sir  !  and 
here  is  the  queen's  warrant  for  apprehending  them.  I  have  signed 
it  with  my  own  hand,  and,  moreover,  serve  it  now,  with  my  own 
hand,  in  order  to  save  you  scandal — and  it  may  be,  worse.  1  must 
have  these  men,  Mr.  Leigh." 

"  My  dear  Sir  Richard  ! " 

"  I  must  have  them,  or  I  must  search  the  house  ;  and  you  would 
not  put  either  yourself  or  me  to  so  shameful  a  necessity  1  " 

"  My  dear  Sir  Richard  ! " 

"  Must  I,  then,  ask  you  to  s^and  back  from  your  own  doorway, 
my  dear  sir  1  "  said  Grenvile.  And  then  changing  his  voice  to 
that  fearful  lion's  roar,  for  which  he  v/as  famous,  and  which  it 
seemed  impossible  that  lips  so  delicate  could  utter,  he  thundered, 
"  Knaves,  behind  there  !     Back  1  " 

This  was  spoken  to  half-a-dozen  grooms  and  serving-men,  who» 
well  armed,  were  clustered  in  the  passage. 

**  What  ?  swords  out,  you  sons  of  cliff  rabbits  ? "  And  in  a 
moment.  Sir  Richard's  long  blade  flashed  out  also,  and  putting 
Mr.  Leigh  gently  aside,  as  if  he  had  been  a  child,  he  walked  up  to 
the  party,  who  vanished  right  and  left  ;  having  expected  a  cur  dog, 
in  the  shape  of  a  parish  constable,  and  come  upon  a  lion  in- 
stead.    They  were  stout  fellows  enough,  no  doubt,  in  a  fair  fight; 


gS  WESTWARD  HO 

but  they  had  no  stomach  to  be  hanged  in  a  row  at  Launcestoi 
Castle,  after  a  preliminary  running-  through  the  boay  oy  that  re- 
doubted admiral  and  most  unpeaceful  justice  of  the  peace. 

"And  now,  my  dear  Mr.  Leigh,"  said  Sir  Richard,  as  blandly 
as  ever,  "where  are  my  men  ?  The  night  is  cold  ;  and  you,  as 
well  as  I,  need  to  be  in  our  beds." 

"  The  men.  Sir  Richard — the  Jesuits — they  are  not  here,  in- 
deed." 

"  Not  here,  sir  ?' 

"  On  the  word  of  a  gentleman,  they  left  my  house  an  hour  ago. 
Believe  me,  sir,  they  did.     I  will  swear  to  you  if  you  need." 

"  I  believe  Mr.  Leigh  of  Chapel's  word  without  oaths.  Whither 
are  they  gone  ?  " 

"  Nay,  sir — how  can  I  tell  '^.  They  are — they  are,  as  I  may  say, 
fled,  sir  ;  escaped." 

"  With  your  connivance  ;  at  least  with  your  son's.  Where  are 
they  gone  ?  " 

"  As  I  live,  I  do  not  know." 

"  Mr.  Leigh — is  this  possible  ?  Can  you  add  untruth  to  that 
treason  from  the  punishment  of  which  I  am  trying  to  shield  you  "i  " 

Poor  Mr.  Leigh  burst  into  tears. 

"  Oh  !  my  God  !  my  God  !  is  it  come  to  this  ?  Over  and  above 
having  the  fear  and  anxiety  of  keeping  these  black  rascals  in  my 
house,  and  having  to  stop  their  villanous  mouths  every  minute,  for 
fear  they  should  hang  me  and  themselves,  I  am  to  be  called  a 
traitor  and  a  liar  in  my  old  age,  and  that,  too,  by  Richard  Gren- 
vile  !  Would  God  I  had  never  been  born  !  Would  God  I  had 
no  soul  to  be  saved,  and  I'd  just  go  and  drown  care  in  drink,  and 
let  the  queen  and  the  pope  fight  it  out  their  own  way  !  "  And  the 
poor  old  man  sank  into  a  chair,  and  covered  his  face  with  his 
hands,  and  then  leaped  up  again. 

"  Bless  my  heart  I  Excuse  me.  Sir  Richard — to  sit  down  and 
leave  you  standing.  'Slife,  sir,  sorrow  is  making  a  hawbuck  of 
me.  Sit  down,  my  dear  sir  !  my  worshipful  sir  !  or  rather  come 
with  me  into  my  room,  and  hear  a  poor  wretched  man's  story,  for 
I  swear  before  God  the  men  are  fled  ;  and  my  poor  boy  Eustace  is 
not  home  either,  and  the  groom  tells  me  that  his  devil  of  a  cousin 
has  broken  his  jaw  for  him  ;  and  his  mother  is  all  but  mad  this 
hour  past.     Good  lack  !  good  lack  !  " 

"  He  nearly  murdered  his  angel  of  a  cousin,  sir  !  "  said  Sir 
Richard  severely. 

"  What,  sir  ?     They  never  told  me." 

"  He  had  stabbed  his  cousin  Frank  three  times,  sir,  oefore 
Amyas,  who  is  as  noble  a  lad  as  walks  God's  earth,  struck  him 
down.  And  in  defence  of  what,  forsooth,  did  he  play  the  ruffian 
and  the  swashbuckler,  but  to  bring  home  to  your  house  this  letter, 
sir,  which  you  shall  hear  at  your  leisure,  the  moment  I  have  taken 
order  about  your  priests."  And  walking  out  of  the  house  he  went 
round  and  called  to  Cary  to  come  to  him. 

The  birds  are  flown,  Will,"  whispered  he.     "There  is  but  onf 


P^ESTIVARD  HO  t  9p 

cTittnce  for  us,  and  that  is  Marshall  Mouth.  If  they  are  trying  to 
take  boat  there,  you  may  be  yet  in  time.  If  they  are  gone  inland 
we  can  do  nothing  till  we  raise  the  hue  and  cry  to-morrow." 

And  Will  galloped  off  over  the  downs  toward  Marsland,  while 
Sit  Richard  ceremoniously  walked  in  again,  and  professed  him- 
self ready  and  happy  to  have  the  honor  of  an  audience  in  Mr. 
Leigh's  private  chamber.  And  as  we  know  pretty  well  already 
what  was  to  be  discussed  therein,  we  had  better  go  over  to  Mars- 
land  Mouth,  and,  if  possible,  arrive  there  before  Will  Gary  :  seeing 
that  he  arrived  hot  and  swearing,  half  an  hour  too  late. 

Note.—l  have  shrunk  somewhat  from  giving  these  and  other  sketches  (true  and  acairate 
as  I  believe  them  to  be)  of  Ireland  during  Elizabeth's  reign,  when  the  tyranny  and  lawless- 
ness of  the  feudal  chiefs  had  reduced  the  island  to  such  a  state  of  weakness  and  barbarism, 
that  it  was  absolutely  necessary  for  England  either  to  crush  the  Nornian-Irish  nobility,  and 
organize  some  sort  of  law  and  order,  or  to  leave  Ireland  an  easy  prey  to  the  Spaniards,  or 
any  other  nation  which  should  go  to  war  with  us.  The  work  was  done— clumsily  rather 
than  cruelly;  but  wrongs  were  inflicted,  and  avenged  by  fresh  wrongs,  and  those  by  fresh 
again.  May  the  memory  of  them  perish  fr)rever  1  It  has  been  reserved  for  this  age,  and 
for  the  liberal  policy  of  this  age,  to  see  the  last  ebullitions  of  Celtic  excitability  die  out 
harmless  and  ashamed  of  itself,  and  to  find  that  the  Irishman,  when  he  is  brought  as  a  sol- 
dier under  the  regenerative  influence  of  law,  discipline,  self-respect,  and  loyalty,  can  prove 
himself  a  worthy  rival  of  the  more  stern  Norse-Saxon  warrior.  God  grant  that  the  military 
brotherhood  between  Irish  and  English,  which  is  the  special  glory  ot  the  present  war,  may 
be  the  germ  of  a  brotherhood  industrial,  political,  and  hereafter,  perhaps,  religious  also  ; 
and  that  not  merely  the  corpses  of  heroes,  but  the  feuds  and  wrongs  which  have  parted 
them  for  centuries,  may  lie  buiied,  once  and  forever,  in  the  noble  graves  of  Alma  and  Itw 
kerman. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

THE  COOMBES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST. 

"Far,  far  from  hence 
The  Adriatic  breaks  in  a  warm  bay 
Among  the  green  Illyrian  hills,  and  there 
The  sunshine  in  the  happy  glens  is  fair, 
And  by  the  sea  and  in  the  brakes 
The  grass  is  cool,  the  sea-side  air 
Buoyant  and  fresh,  the  mountain  flowers 
More  virginal  and  sweet  than  ours." 

Matthew  Aritolix 

And  even  such  are  those  delightful  glens,  which  cut  the  high 
table-land  of  the  confines  of  Devon  and  Cornwall,  and  opening 
each  through  its  gorge  of  down  and  rock,  towards  the  boundless 
Western  Ocean.  Each  is  like  the  other,  and  each  is  like  no  other 
English  scenery.  Each  has  its  upright  walls,  inland  of  rich  oak- 
wood,  nearer  the  sea  of  dark  green  furze,  then  of  smooth  turf,  then 
of  weird  black  cliffs  which  range  out  right  and  left  far  into  the 
deej)  sea,  in  castles,  spires,  and  wings  of  jagged  iron-stone.  Each 
has  its  narrow  strip  of  fertile  meadow,  its  crystal  trout  stream 
winding  across  and  across  from  one  hill-foot  to  the  other  ;  its  gray 


jOO  WESTWARD  ffOt 

stone  mill,  with  the  water  spari<ling  and  humming  round  the 
dripping  wheel  ;  its  dark  rock  pools  above  the  tide  mark,  wher^ 
the  salmon-trout  gather  in  from  their  Atlantic  wanderings,  after 
each  autumn  flood  :  its  ridge  of  blown  sand,  bright  with  golden 
trefoil  and  crimson  lady's  finger  ;  its  gray  bank  of  polished  pebbles, 
down  which  the  stream  rattles  toward  the  sea  below.  Each  has 
its  black  field  of  jagged  shark's-tooth  rock  which  paves  the  cove 
from  side  to  side,  streaked  with  here  and  there  a  pink  line  of  shell 
sand,  and  laced  with  white  foam  from  the  eternal  surge,  stretching 
In  parallel  lines  out  to  the  westward,  in  strata  set  upright  on  edge, 
or  tilted  towards  each  other  at  strange  angles  by  primeval  earth- 
quakes ; — such  is  the  "  Mouth  " — as  those  coves  are  called  ;  and 
such  the  jaw  of  teeth  which  they  display,  one  rasp  of  which  would 
grind  abroad  the  timbers  of  the  stoutest  ship.  To  landward,  all 
richness,  softness,  and  peace  ;  to  seaward,  a  waste  and  howling 
wilderness  of  rock  and  roller,  barren  to  the  fisherman,  and  hope- 
less to  the  shipwrecked  mariner. 

In  only  one  of  these  "  Mouths  "  is  a  landing  for  boats,  made 
possible  by  a  long  sea-wall  of  rock,  which  prctects  it  from  the 
rollers  of  the  Atlantic  ;  and  that  mouth  is  Marsland,  the  abode  of 
the  White  Witch,  Lucy  Passmore  ;  whither,  as  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
vile  rightly  judged,  the  Jesuits  were  gone.  But  before  the  Jesuits 
came,  two  other  persons  were  standing  on  that  lonely  beach,  under 
the  bright  October  moon,  namely,  Rose  Salterne  and  the  White 
Witch  herself ;  for  Rose,  fevered  with  curiosity  and  superstition, 
and  allured  by  the  very  wildness  and  possible  danger  ot  the 
spell,  had  kept  her  appointment  ;  and,  a  few  minutes  before  mid- 
night, stood  on  the  gray  shingle  beach  with  her  counsellor. 

"  You  be  safe  enough  here  to-night.  Miss.  My  old  man  is 
snoring  sound  abed,  and  there's  no  other  soul  ever  sets  foot  here 
o'  nights,  except  it  be  the  mermaids  now  and  then.  Goodness, 
Father,  where's  our  boat  ?  It  ought  to  be  up  here  on  the 
pebbles." 

Rose  pointed  to  a  strip  of  sand  some  forty  yards  nearer  the  sea, 
where  the  boat  lay. 

"  Oh,  the  lazy  old  villian  !  he  '  been  round  the  rocks  after  pol- 
lock this  evening,  and  never  taken  the  trouble  to  hale  the  boat  up. 
I'll  trounce  him  for  it  when  I  get  home.  I  only  hope  he's  made 
her  fast  where  she  is,  that's  all  !  He's  more  plague  to  me  tharv 
ever  my  money  will  be.     O  deary  me  ! " 

And  the  goodwife  bustled  down  toward  the  boat,  with  Rose 
behind  her. 

"  Iss,  'tis  fast,  sure  enough  :  and  the  oars  aboard  too  !  Well, 
I  never  !  Oh,  the  lazy  thief,  to  leave  they  here  to  be  stole  !  I'll 
just  sit  in  the  boat,  dear,  and  watch  mun,  while  you  go  down  to 
the  say  ;  for  you  must  be  all  alone  to  yourself  you  know,  or  you'H 
see  nothing.  There's  the  looking-glass  ;  now  go,  and  dip  your 
head  three  times,  and  mind  you  don't  look  to  land  or  sea  before 
you've  said  the  words,  and  looked  upon  the  glass.  Now,  be 
quicks  it's  just  upon  midnight." 


I 


WESTWARD  HOI  lOl 

And  she  coiled  herself  up  in  the  boat,  while  Rose  went  faltering 
down  the  strip  of  sand,  some  twenty  yards  farther,  and  there  slip- 
ing  off  her  clothes,  stood  shivering  and  trembling  for  a  moment 
efore  she  entered  the  sea. 

She  was  between  two  walls  of  rock  :  that  on  her  left  hand, 
some  twenty  feet  high,  hid  her  in  deepest  shade  ;  that  on  her 
rio-ht,  though  much  lower,  took  the  whole  blaze  of  the  midnight 
moon.  Great  festoons  of  live  and  purple  sea-weed  hung  from 
it,  shading  dark  cracks  and  crevices,  fit  haunts  for  all  the  goblins 
of  the  sea.  On  her  left  hand,  the  peaks  of  the  rock  frowned  down 
ghastly  black  ;  on  her  right  hand,  far  aloft,  the  downs  slept  bright 
and  cold. 

The  breeze  had  died  away  ;  not  even  a  roller  broke  the  per- 
fect stillness  of  the  cove.  The  gulls  were  all  asleep  upon  the 
ledges.  Over  all  was  a  true  autumn  silence  ;  a  silence  which 
may  be  heard.  She  stood  awed,  and  listened  in  hope  of  a  sound 
which  might  tell  her  that  any  living  thing  beside  herself  existed. 

There  was  a  faint  bleat,  as  of  a  new-born  lamb,  high  above  her 
head  ;  she  started  and  looked  up.  Then  a  wail  from  the  cliffs,  as 
of  a  child  in  pain,  answered  by  another  from  the  opposite  rocks. 
They  were  but  the  passing  snipe,  and  the  otter  calling  to  her 
brood  ;  but  to  her  t+iey  were  mysterious,  supernatural  goblins, 
come  to  answer  to  her  call.  Nevertheless,  they  only  quickened 
her  expectation  ;  and  the  witch  had  told  her  not  to  fear  them.  If 
she  performed  the  rite  duly,  nothing  would  harm  her  :  but  she 
could  hear  the  beating  of  her  own  heart,  as  she  stepped,  mirror  in 
hand,  into  the  cold  water,  waded  hastily,  as  far  as  she  dare,  and 
then  stopped  aghast. 

A  ring  of  flame  was  round  her  waist ;  every  limb  was  bathed 
in  lambent  light ;  all  the  multitudinous  life  of  the  autumn  sea, 
stirred  by  her  approach,  had  flashed  suddenly  into  glory  ;— 

"  And  around  her  the  lamps  of  the  sea  nymphs, 

Myriad  fierv  globes,  swam  heaving  and  panting,  and  rainbows, 
Crimson  and  azure  and  emerald,  were  broken  in  star-showers,  li.dnmg 
Far  through  the  wine-dark  depths  of  the  crystal,  the  gardens  of  Nereus. 
Coral  and  sea-fan  and  tangle,  the  blooms  and  the  palms  of  the  ocean. 

She  could  see  every  shell  which  crawled  on  the  white  sand  at  her 
feet,  every  rock-fish  which  played  in  and  out  of  the  crannies,  and 
stared  at  her  with  its  broad  bright  eyes  ;  while  the  great  palmate 
oarweeds  which  waved  along  the  chasm,  half-seen  in  the  glim- 
mering water,  seemed  to  beckon  her  down  with  long  brown  hands 
to  a  grave  amid  their  chilly  bowers.  She  turned  to  flee  :  but  she 
had  gone  too  far  now  to  retreat  ;  hastily  dipping;  her  head  three 
times,  she  hurried  out  to  the  sea-marge,  and  looking,  through  her 
dripping  locks  at  the  magic  mirror,  pronounced  the  incantation  — 

*'  A  maiden  pure,  here  I  stand, 
Neither  on  sea,  nor  yet  on  land  : 
Angels  watch  me  on  either  hand. 
If  you  be  landsman,  come  down  the  strand  f    _- 
If  you  be  sailor,  come  up  the  sand  ; 
\i  you  be  angel.,  come  from  the  sky, 


101  WESTWARD  HOI 

Look  in  my  glass,  and  pass  me  by  ; 
Look  in  my  glass,  and  go  from  the  short ; 
Leave  me,  but  love  me  for  evermore." 

The  incantation  was  hardly  finished  ;  her  eyes  were  straining 
into  the  mirror,  where,  as  maybe  supposed,  nothing  appeared  but 
the  sparkle  of  the  drops  from  her  own  tresses,  when  she  heard 
rattling  down  the  pebbles  the  hasty  feet  of  men  and  horses. 

She  darted  into  a  cavern  of  the  high  rock,  and  hastily  dressec 
herself:  the  steps  held  on  right  to  the  boat.  Peeping  out,  half- 
dead  with  terror,  she  saw  there  four  men,  two  of  whom  had  just 
leaped  from  their  horses,  and  turning  them  adrift,  began  to  help  the 
other  two  in  running  the  boat  down. 

Whereon,  out  of  the  stern-sheets,  arose,  like  an  angry  ghost, 
the  portly  figure  of  Lucy  Passmore,  and  shrieked  in  shrillest 
treble — 

"  Eh  !  ye  villains,  ye  roogs,  what  do  ye  want  staling  poor  folks' 
boats  by  night  like  this  !  " 

The  whole  party  recoiled  in  terror,  and  one  turned  to  run  up  the 
beach,  shouting  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  "  'Tis  a  marmaiden — a 
marmaiden  asleep  in  Willy  Passmore  s  boat  !  " 

"  I  wish  it  were  any  sich  good  luck,"  she  could  hear  Will  say ; 
**  'tis  my  wife,  oh  dear  ! "  and  he  cowered  down,  expecting  the 
hearty  cuff  which  he  received  duly,  as  the  White  Witch,  leaping 
out  of  the  boat,  dareu  any  man  to  touch  it,  and  thundered  to  her 
husband  to  go  home  to  bed. 

The  wily  dame,  as  Rose  well  guessed,  was  keeping  up  this  de- 
lay chiefly  to  gain  time  for  her  pupil  :  but  she  had  also  more  solid 
reasons  for  making  the  fight  as  hard  as  possible  ;  for  she,  as  well 
as  Rose,  had  already  discerned  in  the  ungainly  figure  of  one  of 
the  party  the  same  suspicious  Welsh  gentlemen,'  on  whose  calling 
she  had  divined  long  ago  ;  and  she  was  so  loyal  a  subject  as  to 
hold  in  extreme  horror  her  husband's  meddling  with  such  "  Popish 
skulkers  "  (as  she  called  the  whole  party  roundly  to  their  face)— 
unless  on  consideration  of  a  very  handsome  sum  of  money.  In 
vain  Parsons  thundered,  Campian  entreated,  Mr.  Leigh's  groom 
swore,  and  her  husband  danced  round  in  an  agony  of  mingled 
fear  and  covetousness. 

"  No,"  she  cried,  "  as  I  am  an  honest  woman  and  loyal !  This 
is  why  you  left  the  boat  down  to  the  shoore,  you  old  traitor,  you, 
is  it  ?  To  help  off  sich  noxious  trade  as  this  out  of  the  hands  of 
her  Majesty's  quorum  and  rotulorum  ?  Eh  ?  Stand  back,  cow- 
ards !     Will  you  strike  a  woman  ?  " 

This  last  speech  (as  usual)  was  merely  indicative  of  her  inten- 
tion to  strike  the  men  ;  for,  getting  out  one  of  the  oars,  she 
swung  it  round  and  round  fiercely,  and  at  last  caught  Father 
Parsons  such  a  crack  across  the  shins,  that  he  retreated  with  a 
howl. 

"  Lucy,  Lucy  !  "  shrieked  her  husband,  in  shrillest  Devon  fal- 
setto, "  be  you  mazed  .''  Be  you  mazed,  lass  ?  They  promised  me 
two  gold  nobles  before  I'd  lend  them  the  boot  !** 


WESTIVARD  Ha  f  103 

**  Tu  ?  "  shrieked  the   matron,  with  a  tone  of  ineffable  scorn. 

And  do  yu  call  yourself  a  man  ?  " 

"  Tu  nobles  !  tu  nobles  !  "  shrieked  he  again,  hopping-  about  at 
3ar*s  length. 

"  Tu  ?     And  would  you  sell  your  soul  under  ten  ?  " 

"  Oh,  if  that  is  it,"  cried  poor  Campian,  "give  her  ten,  give  her 
ten,  brother  Pars — Morgans,  I  mean  ;  and  take  care  of  your  shins, 
*  Offa  Cerbero,"  you  know — Oh,  virago  !  "  Furens  quid  foemina 
possit  ! '     Certainly  she  is  some  Lamia,  some  Gorgon,  some " 

"  Take  that  for  your  Lamys  and  Gorgons  to  an  honest  v/oman  !  " 
and  in  a  moment  poor  Campian's  thin  legs  were  cut  from  under 
him,  while  the  virago,  "  mounting  on  his  trunk  astride,"  like  that 
more  famous  one  on  Hudibras,  cried,  "  Ten  nobles,  or  I'll  kep  ye 
here  till  morning  !  "     And  the  ten  nobles  were  paid  into  her  hand. 

And  now  the  boat,  its  dragon  guardian  being  pacified,  was  run 
down  to  the  sea,  and  close  past  the  nook  where  poor  little  Rose 
was  squeezing  herself  into  the  farthest  and  darkest  corner,  among 
wet  sea-weed  and  rough  barnacles,  holding  her  breath  as  they 
approached. 

They  passed  her,  and  the  boat's  keel  was  already  in  the  water ; 
Lucy  had  followed  them  close,  for  reasons  of  her  own,  and  per- 
ceiving close  to  the  water's  edge  a  dark  cavern,  cunningly  sur- 
mised that  it  contained  Rose,  and  planted  her  ample  person  right 
across  its  mouth,  while  she  grumbled  at  her  husband,  the  strangers, 
and  above  all  at  Mr.  Leigh's  groom,  to  whom  she  prophesied 
pretty  plainly  Launceston  jail  and  the  gallows  ;  while  the  wretchea 
serving-man,  who  would  as  soon  have  dared  to  leap  offWelcombe 
Cliff,  as  to  return  railing  for  railing  to  the  White  Witch,  in  vain  en- 
treated her  mercy,  and  tried,  by  all  possible  dodging,  to  keep  one 
of  the  party  between  himself  and  her,  lest  her  redoubted  eye  should 
'=  overlook"  him  once  more  to  his  ruin. 

But  the  night's  adventures  were  not  ended  yet ;  for  just  as  the 
boat  was  launched,  a  faint  halloo  was  heard  upon  the  beach,  and 
a  minute  after,  a  horseman  plunged  down  the  pebbles  and  along 
the  sand,  and  pulling  his  horse  up  on  its  haunches  close  to  the 
terrified  group,  dropped,  rather  than  leaped,  from  the  saddle. 

The  serving-man,  though  he  dared  not  tackle  a  witch,  knev/ 
well  enough  how  to  deal  with  a  swordsman  ;  and  drawing,  sprang 
upon  the  new-comer  :  and  then  recoiled — 

"  God  forgive  me,  it's  Mr.  Eustace  !  Oh,  dear  sir,  I  took  you 
Tor  one  of  Sir  Richard's  men  !     Oh,  sir,  you're  hurt  !" 

'"  A  scratch  !  a  scratch  !  "  almost  moaned  Eustace.  "  Plelp  me 
into  the  boat,  Jack.     Gentlemen,  I  must  with  you." 

"  Not  with  us,  surely,  my  dear  son,  vagabonds  upon  the  face  of 
the  earth  ?  "  said  kind-hearted  Campian. 

"  With  you,  for  ever.  All  is  over  here.  Whither  God  and  the 
cause  lead  " — and  he  staggered  toward  the  boat. 

As  he  passed  Rose,  she  saw  his  ghastlv  bleeding  face,  half 
bound  up  with  a  handkerchief,  which  coula  not  conceal  the  con- 
vulsions of  rage,  shame,  and  despair,  which  twisted  it  from  all  its 


104  WESTIVARD  HO! 

usual  beauty.  His  eyes  glared  wildly  round — and  once,  right  into 
the  cavern.  They  met  hers,  so  full,  and  keen,  and  dreadful,  that 
forgetting  she  was  utterly  invisible,  the  terrified  girl  was  on  the 
point  of  shrielcing  aloud. 

"  He  has  overlooked  me  !  "  said  she,  shuddering  to  herself  as 
she  recollected  his  threat  of  yesterday. 

"  Who  has  wounded  you  ?  "  asked'Campian. 

"  My  cousin — Amyas — and  taken  the  letter  !  " 

"  The  Devil  take  him,  then  !  "  cried  Parsons,  stamping  up  and 
down  upon  the  sand  in  fury. 

"  Ay,  curse  him — you  may  !  I  dare  not !  He  saved  me — sent  me 
here  ! "  and  with  a  groan,  he  made  an  effort  to  enter  the  boat. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  young  gentleman,"  cried  Lucy  Passmore,  her 
woman's  heart  bursting  out  at  the  sign  of  pain,  "you  must  not 
goo  forth  with  a  grane  wound  like  to  that.  Do  ye  let  me  just  bind 
mun  up — do  ye  now  ! "  and  she  advanced. 

Eustace  thrust  her  back. 

"  No  !  better  bear  it.  I  deserve  it — devils  !  I  deserve  it  !  On 
board,  or  we  shall  all  be  lost — William  Gary  is  close  behind  me  !  " 

And  at  that  news  the  boat  was  thrust  into  the  sea,  faster  than 
ever  it  went  before,  and  only  in  time;  for  it  was  but  just  round 
the  rocks,  and  out  of  sight,  when  the  rattle  of  Gary's  horsehoofs 
was  heard  above. 

"That  rascal  of  Mr.  Leigh's  will  catch  it  now,  the  Popish  vil- 
lain  !  "  said  Lucy  Passmore  aloud.  "  You  lie  still  there,  dear  life, 
and  settle  your  sperrits  ;  you'm  so  safe  as  ever  was  rabbit  to  bur- 
row. I'll  see  what  happens,  if  I  die  for  it  !  "  And  so  saying,  she 
squeezed  herself  up  through  a  cleft  to  a  higher  ledge,  from  whence 
she  could  see  what  passed  in  the  valley. 

■  "  There  mun  is  !  in  the  meadow,  trying  to  catch  the  horses  \ 
There  comes  Mr.  Gary  !  Goodness,  Father,  how  a  rid'th  !  he's 
over  wall  already  !  Ron,  Jack  !  ron  then  !  A'll  get  to  the  river  ! 
No,  a  waint !  Goodness,  Father !  There's  Mr.  Gary  cotched 
mun  !     A's  down,  a's  down  !  " 

"  Is  he  dead  ?  "  asked  Rose,  shuddering. 

"  Iss,  fegs,  dead  as  nits  !  and  Mr.  Gary  off  his  horse,  standing 
overthwart  mun  !  No,  a  baint  !  A's  up  now.  Suspose  he  was 
hit  wi'  the  flat.  Whatever  is  Mr.  Gary  tu  !  Telling  wi'  mun,  a 
bit.     O  dear,  dear,  dear  !  " 

"  Has  he  killed  him  ?  "  cried  poor  Rose. 

"  No,  fegs,  no  !  kecking  mun,  kecking  mun,  so  hard  as  ever  was 
luteball !  Goodness,  Father,  who  did  ever  ?  If  a  haven't  kicked 
mun  right  into  river,  and  got  on  mun's  horse  and  rod  away  ! " 

And  so  saying,  down  she  came  again. 

"  And  now  then,  my  dear  life,  us  be  better  to  goo  hoom  and  get 
you  sommat  warm.  You'm  mortal  cold,  I  rackon,  by  now.  I  was 
cruel  fear'd  for  ye  :  but  I  kept  mun  off  clever,  didn't  I,  now  1 

"  I  wish — I  wish  I  had  not  seen  Mr.  Leigh's  face  !  " 

"  Iss,  dreadful,  weren't  it,  poor  young  soul ;  a  sad  night  for  hi3 
poor  mother !  *' 


WESTIVARD  HOI  I05 

••  Lucy,  I  can*t  get  his  face  out  of  my  mind.  I'm  sure  he  over- 
looked me." 

"  O  then  !  who  ever  heard  the  like  o'  that  ?  When  young  gentle- 
men  do  overlook  young  ladies,  tain't  thikketheor  aways,  I  knoo. 
Never  you  think  on  it." 

"  But  I  can't  help  thinking  of  it,"  said  Rose.  "  Stop.  Shall  we 
go  home  yet  ?     Where's  that  servant  ?  " 

"  Never  mind,  he  waint  see  us,  here  under  the  hill.  I'd  much 
sooner  to  know  where  my  old  man  was.  I've  a  sort  of  a  fore- 
casting in  my  inwards,  like,  as  I  always  has  when  aught's  gwain 
to  happen,  as  though  I  shouldn't  zee  mun  again,  like,  I  have. 
Miss.  Well — he  was  a  bedient  old  soul,  after  all,  he  was.  Good- 
ness, Father  !  and  all  this  while  us  have  forgot  the  very  thing  us 
come  about  !     Who  did  you  see  ? " 

••  Only  that  face  !  "  said  Rose,  shuddering. 

"  Not  in  the  glass,  maid  ?    Say  then,  not  in  the  ^lass  ?  " 

"  Would  to  heaven  it  had  been  !  Lucy,  what  if  he  were  the 
man  I  was  fated  to " 

"  He  ?  Why  he's  a  praste,  a  Popish  praste,  that  can't  marry  if 
he  would,  poor  wratch." 

*•  He  is  none  ;  and  I  have  cause  enough  to  know  it  ! "  And,  for 
want  of  a  better  confidant.  Rose  poured  into  the  willing  ears  of  her 
companion  the  whole  story  of  yesterday's  meeting. 

"  He's  a  pretty  wooer  !  "  said  Lucy  at  last  contemptuously.  "  Be 
a  brave  maid,  then,  be  a  brave  maid,  and  never  terrify  yourseli 
with  his  unlucky  face.  It's  because  there  was  none  here  worthy 
of  ye,  that  ye  seed  none  in  glass.  Maybe  he's  to  be  a  foreigner, 
from  over  seas,  and  that's  why  his  sperit  was  so  long  a  coming. 
A  duke,  or  a  prince  to  the  least,  I'll  warrant,  he'll  be,  that  carries 
off  the  Rose  of  Bideford." 

But  in  spite  of  all  the  good  dame's  flattery.  Rose  could  not  wipe 
that  fierce  face  away  from  her  eyeballs.  She  reached  home  safely, 
and  crept  to  bed  undiscovered  :  and  when  the  next  morning,  as  was 
to  be  expected,  found  her  laid  up  with  something  very  like  a  fever, 
from  excitement,  terror,  and  cold,  the  phantom  grew  stronger  and 
stronger  before  her,  and  it  required  all  her  woman's  tact  and  self-re- 
straint to  avoid  betraying  by  her  exclamations  what  had  happened 
on  that  fantastic  night.  After  a  fortnight's  weakness,  however,  she 
recovered  and  went  back  to  Bideford :  but  ere  she  arrived  there, 
Amyas  was  far  across  the  seas  on  his  way  to  Milford  Haven,  as 
shall  be  told  in  the  ensuing  chapters. 


,06  iy£STlVA£D  HO. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  TRUE  AND  TRAGICAL  HISTORY  OF  MR.  JOHN  OXENHAM 
OF   PLYMOUTH. 

*'  The  fair  breeze  blew,  the  white  foam  flew  ; 
The  furrow  follow'd  free  ; 
We  were  the  first  that  ever  burst 
Into  that  silent  sea." 

TJu  A  ncient  Marwtr. 

It  was  too  late  and  too  dark  last  night  to  see  the  old  house  at 
Stow.  We  will  look  round  us,  then,  this  bright  October  day,  while 
Sir  Richard  and  Amyas,  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  are 
pacing  up  and  down  the  terraced  garden  to  the  south.  Amyas 
has  slept  till  luncheon,  i.  e.  till  an  hour  ago  :  but  Sir  Richard,  in 
spite  of  the  bustle  of  last  night,  was  up  and  in  the  valley  by  six 
o'clock,  recreating  the  valiant  souls  of  himself  and  two  terrier  dogs 
by  the  chase  of  sundry  badgers. 

Old  Stow  House  stands,  or  rather  stood,  some  four  miles  beyond 
the  Cornish  border,  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  largest  and  love- 
liest of  those  coombes  of  which  I  spoke  in  the  last  chapter.  Eighty 
years  after  Sir  Richard's  time  there  arose  there  a  huge  Palladian 
pile,  bedizened  with  every  monstrosity  of  bad  taste,  which  was 
built,  so  the  story  runs,  by  Charles  the  Second,  for  Sir  Richard's 
great  grandson,  the  heir  of  that  famous  SirBevil  who  defeated  the 
Parliamentary  troops  at  Stratton,  and  died  soon  after,  fighting 
valiantly  at  Landsdowne  over  Bath,  But  like  most  other  things 
which  owed  their  existence  to  the  Stuarts,  it  rose  only  to  fall  again. 
An  old  man  who  had  seen,  as  a  boy,  the  foundation  of  the  n,vV 
house  laid,  lived  to  see  it  pulled  down  again,  and  the  very  bricks 
and  timber  sold  upon  the  spot ;  and  since  then  the  stables  have 
become  a  farm-house,  the  tennis-court  a  sheep-cote,  the  great 
quadrangle  a  rick-yard  ;  and  civilization,  spreading  wave  on  wave 
so  fast  elsewhere,  has  surged  back  from  that  lonely  corner  of  the 
land — let  us  hope,  only  for  a  while. 

"  But  I  am  not  writing  of  that  great  new  Stow  House,  of  the 
past  glories  whereof  quaint  pictures  still  hang  in  the  neighboring 
houses  ;  nor  of  that  famed  Sir  Bevil,  most  beautiful  and  gallant 
of  his  generation,  on  whom,  with  his  grandfather  Sir  Richard,  old 
Prince  has  his  pompous  epigram — 

"  Where  next  siiall  famous  Grenvil's  ashes  stand  ? 
Thy  grandsire  fills  the  sea,  and  tiiou  the  land." 

I  have  to  deal  with  a  simpler  age,  and  a  sterner  generation ; 
and  with  the  old  house,  which  had  stood  there,  in  part  at  least. 


WESTWARD  HOI  loy 

from  gray  and  mythic  ages,  when  the  first  Sir  Richard,  son  of 
Hamon  Dentatus,  Lord  ofCarboyle,  the  grandson  of  Duke  Robert, 
son  of  Rou,  settled  at  Bideford,  after  slaying  the  Prince  of  South- 
GaHs,  and  the  Lord  of  Glamorgan,  and  gave  to  the  Cistercian 
monks  of  Neath  all  his  conquests  in  South  Wales.  It  was  a  huge 
rambling  building,  half  castle,  half  dwelling-house,  such  as  may 
be  seen  still  (almost  an  unique  specimen)  in  Compton  Castle  near 
Torquay,  thedwelling-placeof  Humphrey  Gilbert,  Walter  Raleigh  s 
half-brother,  and  Richard  Grenvile's  bosom  friend,  of  whom  more 
hereafter.  On  three  sides,  to  the  north,  west,  and  south,  the  lofty 
walls  of  the  old  ballium  still  stood,  with  their  machicolated 
turrets,  loopholes,  and  dark  downward  crannies  for  dropping 
stones  and  fire  on  the  besiegers,  the  relics  of  a  more  unsettled 
age  :  but  the  southern  court  of  the  ballium  had  become  a  flower- 
garden,  with  quaint  terraces,  statues,  knots  of  flowers,  clipped 
yews  and  hollies,  and  all  the  pedantries  of  the  topiarian  art.  And 
toward  the  east,  where  the  vista  of  the  valley  opened,  the  old  walls 
were  gone,  and  the  frowning  Norman  keep,  ruined  in  ihe  Wars 
of  the  Roses,  had  been  replaced,  by  the  rich  and  stately  architec- 
ture of  the  Tudors.  Altogether,  the  house,  like  the  time,  was  in 
a  transitionary  state,  and  represented  faithfully  enough  the  pas- 
sage of  the  old  middle  age  into  the  new  life  which  had  just 
burst  into  blossom  throughout  Europe,  never,  let  us  pray,  to  see 
its  autumn  or  its  winter. 

From  the  house  on  three  sides,  the  hill  sloped  steeply  down 
and  the  garden  where  Sir  Richard  and  Amyas  were  walking  gave 
a  truly  English  prospect.  At  one  turn  they  could  catch,  over  the 
western  walls,  a  glimpse  of  the  blue  ocean  flecked  with  passing 
sails  ;  and  at  the  next,  spread  far  below  them,  range  on  range 
of  fertile  park,  stately  avenue,  yellow  autumn  woodland,  and 
purple  heather  moors,  lapping  over  and  over  each  other  up  the 
valley  to  the  old  British  earthwork,  which  stood  black  and  furze- 
grown  on  its  conical  peak  ;  and  standing  out  against  the  sky  on 
the  highest  bank  of  hill  which  closed  the  valley  to  the  east,  the 
lofty  tower  of  Kilkhampton  church,  rich  with  the  monuments 
and  offerings  of  five  centuries  of  Grenviles.  A  yellow  eastern 
haze  hung  soft  over  park,  and  wood,  and  moor  ;  the  red  cattle 
lowed  to  each  other  as  they  stood  brushing  away  the  flies  in  the 
rivulet  far  below  ;  the  colts  in  the  horse-park  close  on  their  right 
whinnied  as  they  played  together,  and  their  sires  from  the  Queen's 
Park,  on  the  opposite  hill,  answered  them  in  fuller  though  fainter 
voices.  A  rutting  stag  made  the  still  woodland  rattle  with  his 
hoarse  thunder,  and  a  rival  far  up  the  valley  gave  back  a  trumpet 
note  of  defiance,  and  was  himself  defied  from  heathery  brows 
which  quivered  far  away  above,  half  seen  through  the  veil  of 
eastern  mist.  And  close  at  home,  upon  the  terrace  before  the 
house,  amid  romping  spaniels,  and  golden  haired  children,  sat 
Lady  Grenvile  herself,  the  beautiful  St.  Leger  of  Annery,  the  cen- 
tral jewel  of  all  that  glorious  place,  and  looked  down  at  her  noble 
children,  and  then  up  at  her  more  noble  husband,  and  round  at 


io8  *  fTESTlVARD  HO 4 

that  broad  paradise  of  the  West,  till  life  seemed  too  full  of  happi 
ness,  and  heaven  of  light. 

And  all  the  while  up  and  down  paced  Amyas  and  Sir  Richard, 
talking  long,  earnestly,  and  slow  ;  for  they  both  knew  that  the 
turning  point  ot  the  boy's  life  was  come. 

"  Yes,"  said  Sir  Richard,  after  Amyas,  in  his  blunt  simple  way. 
had  told  him  the  whole  story  about  Rose  Salterne  and  his  brother, 
— "yes,  sweet  lad,  thou  hast  chosen  the  better  part,  thou  and  thy 
brother  also,  and  it  shall  not  be  taken  from  you.  Only  be  strong, 
lad,  and  trust  in  God  that  He  will  make  a  man  of  you." 

"  I  do  trust,"  said  Amyas. 

*•  Thank  God,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "  that  you  have  yourself  taken 
from  my  heart  that  which  was  my  great  anxiety  for  you,  from  the 
day  that  your  good  father,  who  sleeps  in  peace,  committed  you  to 
my  hands.  For  all  best  things,  Amyas,  become,  when  misused, 
the  very  worst  ;  and  the  love  of  woman,  because  it  is  able  to  lift 
man's  soul  to  the  heavens,  is  also  able  to  drag  him  down  to  hell. 
But  you  have  learnt  better,  Amyas  ;  and  know,  with  our  old  Ger- 
man forefathers,  that,  as  Tacitus  saith,  'Sera  juvenum  Venus- 
ideoque  inexhausta  pubertas.'  And  not  only  that,  Amyas  ;  but 
trust  me,  that  silly  fashion  of  the  French  and  Italians,  to  be  hang- 
ing ever  at  some  woman's  apron  string,  so  that  no  boy  shall  count 
himself  a  man  unless  he  can  '  vagghezziare  le  donne,*  whether 
maids  or  wives,  alas  !  matters  little  ;  th  .t  fashion,  I  say,  is  little 
less  hurtful  to  the  soul  than  open  sin  ;  for  by  it  are  bred  vanity 
and  expense,  envy  and  heartburning,  yea,  hatred  and  murder 
often  ;  and  even  if  that  be  escaped,  yet  the  rich  treasure  of  a 
manly  worship,  which  should  be  kept  for  one  alone,  is  squandered 
and  parted  upon  many,  and  the  bride  at  last  comes  in  for  nothing 
but  the  very  last  leavings  and  caput  mortuu77i  of  her  bridegroom's 
heart,  and  becomes  a  mere  ornament  for  his  table,  and  a  means 
whereby  he  may  obtain  a  progeny.  May  God,  who  has  saved  me 
from  that  death  in  life,  save  you  also  !  "  And  as  he  spoke,  he 
looked  down  toward  his  wife  upon  the  terrace  below  ;  and  she, 
as  if  guessing  instinctively  that  he  was  talking  of  her,  looked  up 
with  so  sweet  a  smile,  that  Sir  Richard's  stern  face  melted  into  a 
very  glory  of  spiritual  sunshine. 

Amyas  looked  at  them  both  and  sighed  ;  and  then  turning  the 
conversation  suddenly — 

"  And  I  may  go  to  Ireland  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  You  shall  sail  in  the  '  Mary  '  for  Milford  Haven,  with  these 
letters  to  Winter.  If  the  wnnd  serves,  you  may  bid  the  master 
dropdown  the  river  to-night,  and  be  oft;  for  we  must  lose  no 
time." 

"Winter  ?  "  said  Amyas.  "  He  is  no  friend  of  mine,  since  he 
left  Drake  and  us  so  cowardly  at  the  Straits  of  Magellan." 

"  Duty  must  not  wait  for  private  quarrels,  even  though  they  be 
just  ones,  lad  :  but  he  will  not  be  your  general.  When  you  come 
to  the  Marshal,  or  the  Lord  Deputy,  give  either  of  them  this  letter, 
and  they  will  set  you  work, — and  hard  work  too,  I  warrant." 


WESTWARD  Hot  IO9 

•*  I  want  nothing  better." 

"  Right,  lad  ;  the  best  reward  for  having  wrought  well  already, 
is  to  have  more  to  do  ;  and  he  that  has  been  faithful  over  a  few 
things,  must  find  his  account  in  being  made  ruler  over  many 
things.  That  is  the  true  and  heroical  rest,  which  only  is  worthy 
of  gentlemen  and  sons  of  God,  As  for  those  who,  either  in  this 
world  or  the  world  to  come,  look  for  idleness,  and  hope  that  God 
shall  feed  them  with  pleasant  things,  as  it  were  with  a  spoon, 
Amyas,  I  count  them  cowards  and  base,  even  though  they  call 
themselves  saints  and  elect." 

"  I  wish  you  could  persuade  my  poor  cousin  of  that." 

"  He  has  yet  to  learn  what  losing  his  life  to  save  it  means, 
Amyas.  Bad  men  have  taught  him  (and  I  fear  these  Anabaptists 
and  Puritans  at  home  teach  little  else),  that  it  is  the  one  great  busi- 
ness of  every  one  to  save  his  own  soul  after  he  dies  ;  every  one 
for  himself;  and  that  that,  and  not  divine  self-sacrifice,  is  the  one 
thing  needful,  and  the  better  part  which  Mary  chose." 

"  I  think  men  are  inclined  enough  already  to  be  selfish,  without 
being  taught  that." 

"  Right,  lad.  For  me,  if  I  could  hang  up  such  a  teacher  on  high 
as  an  enemy  of  mankind,  and  a  corrupter  of  youth,  I  would  do  it 
gladly.  Is  there  not  cowardice  and  self-seeking  enough  about  the 
hearts  of  us  fallen  sons  of  Adam,  that  these  false  prophets,  with 
their  baits  of  heaven,  and  their  terrors  of  hell,  must  exalt  our 
dirtiest  vices  into  heavenly  virtues  and  the  means  of  bliss  .?  Fare- 
well to  chivalry  and  to  desperate  valor,  farewell  to  patriotism  and 
loyalty,  farewell  to  England  and  to  the  manhood  of  England,  if 
once  it  shall  become  the  fashion  of  our  preachers  to  bid  every 
man,  as  the  Jesuits  do,  take  care  first  of  what  they  call  the  safety 
of  his  soul.  Every  man  will  be  afraid  to  die  at  his  post,  because 
he  will  be  afraid  that  he  is  not  fit  to  die.  Amyas,  do  thou  do  thy 
duty  like  a  man,  to  thy  country,  thy  queen,  and  thy  God  ;  and 
count  thy  life  a  worthless  thing,  as  did  the  holy  men  of  old.  Do 
thy  work,  lad  ;  and  leave  thy  soul  to  the  care  of  Him  who  is  just 
and  merciful  in  this,  that  He  rewards  every  man  according  to  his 
work.  Is  there  respect  of  persons  with  God  ?  Now  come  in,  and 
take  the  letters,  and  to  horse.  And  if  I  hear  of  thee  dead  there  at 
Smerwick  fort,  with  all  thy  wounds  in  front,  I  shall  weep  for  thy 
mother,  lad  ;  but  I  shall  have  never  a  sigh  for  thee." 

If  any  one  shall  be  startled  at  hearing  a  fine  gentleman  and  a 
warrior  like  Sir  Richard  quote  Scripture,  and  think  Scripture  also, 
they  must  be  referred  to  the  writings  of  the  time  ;  which  they  may 
read  not  without  profit  to  themselves,  if  they  discover  therefrom 
how  it  was  possible  then  for  men  of  the  world  to  be  thoroughly  in- 
grained with  the  Gospel,  and  yet  to  be  free  from  any  taint  of  su- 
perstitious fear,  or  false  devoutness.  The  religion  of  those  days 
was  such  as  no  soldier  need  have  been  ashamed  of  confessing. 
At  least.  Sir  Richard  died  as  he  lived,  without  a  shudder,  and 
without  a  whine  ;  and  these  were  his  last  words,  fifteen  years  after 
that,  as  he  lay  shot  through  and  through,  a  captive  among  Popish 


tta  "WESTWARD  XTOl 

Spaniards,  priests,  crucifixes,  confession,  extreme  unction,  and  a!| 
other  means  and  appliances  for  delivering  men  out  of  the  hands 
of  a  God  of  love  : — 

"  Here  die  I,  Richard  Grenvile,  with  a  joyful  and  quiet  mind  ; 
for  that  I  have  ended  my  life  as  a  true  soldier  ought,  fighting  fot 
his  country,  queen,  religion,  and  honor  :  my  soul  willingly  de- 
Darting  from  this  body,  leaving  behind  the  lasting  fame  of  having 
ehaved  as  every  valiant  soldier  is  in  his  duty  bound  to  do." 

Those  were  the  last  words  of  Richard  Grenvile.  The  pulpits  of 
those  days  had  taught  them  to  him. 

But  to  return.  That  day's  events  were  not  over  yet.  For,  when 
they  went  down  into  the  house,  the  first  person  whom  they  met 
was  the  old  steward,  in  search  of  his  master. 

"  There  is  a  manner  of  roog,  Sir  Richard,  a  masterless  man, 
at  the  door ;  a  very  forward  fellow,  and  must  needs  speak  with 
you." 

"A  masterless  man  ?  He  had  better  not  to  speak  to  me,  unless 
he  is  in  love  with  jail  and  gallows." 

"  Well,  your  worship,"  said  the  steward,  "  I  expect  that  is  what 
he  does  want,  for  he  swears  he  will  not  leave  the  gate  till  he  has 
seen  you." 

"  Seen  me  ?  Halidame  !  he  shall  see  me,  here  and  at  Launces- 
ion  too,  if  he  likes.     Bring  him  in." 

••  Fegs,  Sir  Richard,  we  are  half  afeard,  with  your  good  leave 

•*  Hillo,  Tony,"  cried  Amyas,  "who  was  ever  afeard  yet  with 
Sir  Richard's  good  leave  1  " 

**  What  has  the  fellow  a  tail  or  horns  ?  " 

"  Massy,  no  :  but  I  be  afeard  of  treason  for  your  honor  ;  foi  the 
fellow  is  pinked  all  over  in  heathen  patterns,  and  as  brown  as  a 
filbert ;  and  a  tall  roog,  a  very  strong  roog,  sir,  and  a  foreigner, 
too,  and  a  mighty  staff  with  him.  I  expect  him  to  be  a  manner  of 
Jesuit,  or  wild  Irish,  sir  ;  and  indeed  the  grooms  have  no  stomach 
to  handle  him,  nor  the  dogs  neither,  or  he  had  been  under  the 
pump  before  now,  for  they  that  saw  him  coming  up  the  hill  swear 
that  he  had  fire  coming  out  of  his  mouth." 

"  Fire  out  of  his  mouth  .?  "  said  Sir  Richard.  "  The  men  are 
drunk." 

"  Pinked  all  over  ?  He  must  be  a  sailor,"  said  Amyas  ;  '*  let  me 
out  and  see  the  fellow,  and  if  he  needs  putting  forth " 

"  Why,  I  dare  say  he  is  not  so  big  but  what  he  will  go  into  thy 
pocket.     So  go,  lad,  while  I  finish  my  writing." 

Amyas  went  out,  and  at  the  back  door,  leaning  on  his  staff,  stood 
a  tall,  raw-boned,  ragged  man,  "  pinked  all  over,"  as  the  steward 
had  said. 

"  Hillo,  lad  !  "  quoth  Amyas.  "  Before  we  come  to  talk,  thou 
wilt  please  to  lay  down  that  Plymouth  cloak  of  thine."  And  he 
pointed  to  the  cudgel,  which  among  West-country  mariners  usually 
bore  that  name. 


WESTWARD  HOf  III 

•'  I'll  warrant,"  said  the  old  steward,  "  that  where  he  found  his 
cloak  he  found  a  purse  not  far  off." 

"But  not  hose  or  doublet  ;  so  the  magical  virtue  of  his  staff  ho s 
not  helped  him  much.  But  put  down  thy  staff,  man,  and  speak 
like  a  Christian,  if  thou  be  one." 

"  I  am  a  Christian,  though  I  lookliT<e  a  heathen  ;  and  no  rogue, 
though  a  masterless  man,  alas  !  But  I  want  nothing,  deserving 
nothing,  and  only  ask  to  speak  with  Sir  Richard,  before  I  go  on 
my  way." 

There  was  something  stately  and  yet  humble  about  the  man  s 
tone  and  manner  which  attracted  Amyas,  and  he  asked  more 
gently  where  he  was  going  and  whence  he  came. 

"  From  Padstow  Port,  sir,  to  Clovelly  town,  to  see  my  old  mother, 
if  indeed  she  be  yet  alive,  which  God  knoweth." 

"  Clovally  man  !  why  didn't  thee  say  thee  was  Clovally  man  ?  " 
asked  all  the  grooms  at  once,  to  whom  a  West  countryman  was 
of  course  a  brother.     The  old  steward  asked — 

"  What's  thy  mother's  name,  then  ?  " 

"Susan  Yeo." 

"  What,  that  lived  under  the  archway  ?  "  asked  a  groom. 

"  Lived  ?  "  said  the  man. 

••  Iss,  sure  ;  her  died  three  days  since,  so  we  heard,  poor  soul.** 

The  man  stood  quite  silent  and  unmoved  for  a  minute  or  two  ; 
and  then  said  quietly  to  himself,  in  Spanish,  "  That  which  is,  is 
best." 

"You  speak  Spanish?"  asked  Aciyas,  more  and  more  in- 
terested. 

"  I  had  need  to  do  so,  young  sir  ;  I  have  been  five  years  in  the 
Spanish  Main,  and  only  set  foot  on  shore  two  days  ago,  and  if  you 
Will  let  me  have  speech  of  Sir  Richard,  I  will  tell  him  that  at  which 
both  the  ears  of  him  that  heareth  it  shall  tingle  ;  and  if  not,  I  can 
but  go  on  to  Mr.  Cary  of  Clovelly,  if  he  be  yet  alive,  and  there  dis- 
burthen  my  soul ;  but  I  would  sooner  have  spoken  with  one  tbAt 
is  a  mariner  like  to  myself." 

"And  you  shall,"  said  Amyas.  "  Steward,  we  will  have  this 
man  in  ;  for  all  his  rags,  he  is  a  man  of  wit."     And  he  led  him  in. 

"  I  only  hope  he  ben't  one  of  those  Popish  murderers,"  said  the 
old  steward,  keeping  at  a  safe  distance  from  him  as  they  en- 
tered the  hall. 

"  Popish,  old  master  ?  There's  little  fear  of  my  being  that. 
Look  here  !  "  And  drawing  back  his  rags,  he  showed  a  ghastly 
scar,  which  encircled  his  wrist  and  wound  round  and  up  his  fore- 
arm. 

"  I  got  that  on  the  rack,"  said  he  quietly,  "  in  the  Inquisition  al 
Lima." 

"  O  Father  !  Father  !  why  didn't  you  tell  us  that  you  were  a 
poor  Christian  ?  "  asked  the  penitent  steward. 

"  Because  I  have  had  nought  but  my  deserts  ;  and  but  a  taste  oi 
them  either,  as  the  Lord  knoweth  w^ho  delivered  me  ;  and  I  wasn't 
going  to  make  myself  a  beggar  and  a  show  on  their  account." 


112  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

"  By  heaven,  you  are  a  brave  fellow  !"  said  Amyas.  •Com^ 
along  straight  to  Sir  Richard's  room." 

So  in  they  went,  where  Sir  Richard  sat  in  his  library  among 
books,  despatches,  state-papers,  and  warrants  ;  for  though  he  was 
not  yet,  as  in  after  times  (after  the  fashion  of  those  days)  admiral, 
general,  member  of  parliament,  privy  councillor,  justice  of  the 
peace,  and  so  forth,  all  at  once,  yet  there  were  few  great  men  with 
whom  he  did  not  correspond,  or  great  matters  with  which  he  was 
not  cognizant. 

"  Hillo,  Amyas,  have  you  bound  the  wild  ir»an  already,  and 
brought  him  in  to  swear  allegiance  ?  " 

But  before  Amyas  could  answer,  the  man  looked  earnestly  on 
him — "  Amyas  }  "  said  he  ;  "  is  that  your  name,  sir  ?  " 

'•  Amyas  Leigh  is  my  name,  at  your  service,  good  fellow." 

"  Of  Burrough  by  Bideford  ?  " 

"  Why  then  ?     What  do  you  know  of  m.e  ?  " 

"  Oh  sir,  sir  !  young  brains  and  happy  ones  have  short  memones  ; 
but  old  and  sad  brains  too  too  long  ones  often  !  Do  you  mind 
one  that  was  with  Mr.  Oxenham,  sir  ?  A  swearing  reprobate  he 
was,  God  forgive  him,  and  hath  forgiven  him  too,  for  His  dear 
Son's  sake — one,  sir,  that  gave  you  a  horn,  a  toy  with  a  chart  on  it  ?  " 

•'  Soul  alive  !  "  cried  Amyas,  catching  him  by  the  hand  ;  "  and 
are  you  he  ?  The  horn  ?  why,  I  have  it  still,  and  will  keep  it  to 
my  dying  day,  too.     But  where  is  Mr.  Oxenham  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  good  fellow,  where  is  Mr.  Oxenham  ?  "  asked  Sir 
Richard,  rising.  "  You  are  somewhat  over-hasty  in  welcoming 
your  old  acquaintance,  Amyas,  before  we  have  heard  from  him 
whether  he  can  give  honest  account  of  himself  and  of  his  captain. 
For  there  is  more  than  one  way  by  which  sailors  may  come  home 
without  their  captains,  as  poor  Mr.  Baker  ot  Bristol  found  to  his 
cost.  God  grant  that  there  may  have  been  no  such  traitorous  deal- 
ing here." 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  if  I  had  been  a  guilty  man  to  my  noble 
captain,  as  I  have  to  God,  I  had  not  come  here  this  day  to  you, 
from  whom  villany  has  never  found  favor,  nor  ever  will  ;  for  I 
know  your  conditions  well,  sir  ;  and  trust  in  the  Lord,  that  if  you 
will  be  pleased  to  hear  me,  you  shall  know  mine." 

"Thou  art  a  well-spoken  knave.     We  shall  see." 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Amyas  in  a  whisper,  "  I  will  warrant  this 
man  guiltless." 

"  I  verily  believe  him  to  be  ;  but  this  is  too  serious  a  matter  to 
be  left  on  guess.     If  he  will  be  sworn " 

Whereon  the  man,  humbly  enough,  said,  that  if  it  would  please 
Sir  Richard,  he  would  rather  not  be  sworn. 

"But  it  does  not  please  me,  rascal!  Did  I  not  warn  thee. 
Amyas  ?  " 

"  Sir,"  said  the  man  proudly,  "  God  forbid  that  my  word  should 
not  be  as  good  as  my  oath  :  but  it  is  against  my  conscience  to  be 
8wom." 


WESTWAI^D  HOI  1 1 3 

**  What  have  we  here  ?   some  fantastical   Anabaptist,  who  is 

wiser  than  his  teachers." 

"  My  conscience,  sir " 

"  The  devil  take  it  and  thee  !  I  never  heard  a  man  yet  begin  to 
prate  of  his  conscience,  but  I  knew  that  he  was  about  to  do  some- 
thing- more  than  ordinarily  cruel  or  false." 

"Sir,"  said  the  man,  coolly  enough,  "do  you  sit  here  to  judge 
me  according  to  law,  and  yet  contrary  to  the  law  swear  profane 
oaths,  for  which  a  fine  is  provided  !  " 

Amyas  expected  an  explosion  :  but  Sir  Richard  pulled  a  shilling 
out  and  put  it  on  the  table.  "  There — my  fine  is  paid,  sirrah,  to 
the  poor  of  Kilkhampton  :  but  hearken  thou  all  the  same.  If  thou 
wilt  not  speak  an  oath,  thou  shalt  speak  on  compulsion  ;  for  to 
Launceston  jail  thou  goest,  there  to  answer  for  Mr.  Oxenham's 
death,  on  suspicion  whereof,  and  of  mutiny  causing  it,  I  will  at- 
tach thee  and  every  soul  of  his  crew  that  comes  home.  We  have 
lost  too  many  gallant  captains  of  late  by  treachery  of  their  crews, 
and  he  that  will  not  clear  himself  on  oath,  must  be  held  for  guilty, 
and  self-condemned." 

"  My  good  fellow,"  said  Amyas,  who  could  not  give  up  his  be- 
lief in  the  man's  honesty  ;  "  why,  for  such  fantastical  scruples, 
peril  not  only  your  life,  but  your  honor,  and  Mr.  Oxenham's  also  ? 
For  if  you  be  examined  by  question,  you  may  be  forced  by  tor- 
ment to  say  that  which  is  not  true," 

"  Little  fear  of  that,  young  sir  !  "  answered  he  with  a  grim 
smile  ;  "  I  have  had  too  much  of  the  rack  already,  and  the  strap- 
pado too,  to  care  much  what  man  can  do  unto  me.  I  would 
heartily  that  I  thought  it  lawful  to  be  sworn  :  but  not  so  thinking, 
I  can  but  submit  to  the  cruelty  of  man  ;  though  I  did  expect  more 
merciful  things,  as  a  most  miserable  and  wrecked  mariner,  at  the 
hands  of  one  who  hath  himself  seen  God's  ways  in  the  sea,  and 
His  wonders  in  the  great  deep.  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  if  you  will 
hear  my  story,  may  God  avenge  on  my  head  all  my  sins  from  my 
youth  up  until  now,  and  cut  me  off  from  the  blood  of  Christ,  and, 
if  it  were  possible,  from  the  number  of  his  elect,  if  I  tell  you  one 
whit  more  or  less  than  truth  ;  and  if  not,  I  commend  myself  into 
the  hands  of  God." 

Sir  Richard  smiled.  "  Well,  thou  art  a  brave  ass,  and  valiant, 
though  an  ass  manifest.  Dost  thou  not  see,  fellow,  how  thou 
hast  sworn  a  ten-times  bigger  oath  than  ever  I  should  have  asked 
of  thee  ?  But  this  is  the  way  with  your  Anabaptists,  who  by  their 
very  hatred  of  forms  and  ceremonies,  show  of  how  much  account 
they  think  them,  and  then  bind  themselves  out  of  their  own  fan- 
tastical self-will  with  far  heavier  burdens  than  ever  the  lawful 
authorities  have  laid  on  them  for  the  sake  of  the  commonweal. 
Rut  what  do  they  care  for  the  commonweal,  as  long  as  they  can 
save,  as  they  fancy,  each  man  his  own  dirty  soul  for  himself  ? 
However,  thou  art  sworn  now  with  a  vengeance  ;  go  on  with  thy 
tale :  and  tirst,  who  art  thou,  and  whence  ?  " 

'*  Well,  sir,"  said  the  man,  quite  unmoved  by  this  last  explosion  ; 


1 1 4  WESTWARD  HO  / 

"  my  name  is  Salvation  Yeo,  born  in  Clovelly  Street,  in  the  yeal 

1526.  where  my  father  exercised  the  mystery  of  a  barber  surgeon, 
and  the  preacher  of  the  people  since  called  Anabaptists,  for  which 
i  return  humble  thanks  to  God." 

Sir  Richard.— Y\^  !  thou  naughty  knave  ;  return  thanks  that 
thy  father  was  an  ass  ? 

Yeo. — Nay,  but  because  he  was  a  barber  surgeon  ;  for  I  mysel! 
learnt  a  touch  of  that  trade,  and  thereby  saved  my  life,  as  I  will 
tell  presently.  And  I  do  think  that  a  good  mariner  ought  to  have 
all  knowledge  of  carnal  and  worldly  cunning,  even  to  tailoring 
and  shoemaking,  that  he  may  be  able  to  turn  his  hand  to  whatso- 
ever may  hap. 

Sir  Richard.— \^q[\  spoken,  fellow  :  but  let  us  have  thy  text 
MHthout  thy  comments.     Forwards  ! 

Yeo. — Well,  sir.  I  was  bred  to  the  sea  from  my  youth,  and  was 
with  Captain  Hawkins  in  his  three  voyages,  which  he  made  to 
Guinea  for  negro  slaves,  and  thence  to  the  West  Indies. 

Sir  Richard.— Th^n  thrice  thou  wentest  to  a  bad  end,  though 
Captain  Hawkins  be  my  good  friend  ;  and  the  last  time  to  a  bad 
end  thou  earnest. 

Yeo.—'^o  denying  that  last,  your  worship  :  but  as  for  the  former, 
I  doubt  :  about  the  unlawfulness  I  mean  ;  being  the  negroes  are  of 
the  children  of  Ham,  who  are  cursed  and  reprobate,  as  Scripture 
declares,  and  their  blackness  testifies,  being  Satan's  own  livery  ; 
among  whom  therefore  there  can  be  none  of  the  elect,  wherefore 
the  elect  are  not  required  to  treat  them  as  brethren. 

Sir  Richard.— WhsLt  a  plague  of  a  pragmatical  sea-lawyer  have 
we  here  ?  And  I  doubt  not,  thou  hypocrite,  that  though  thou  wilt 
call  the  negroes'  black  skin  Satan's  livery,  when  it  serves  thy  turn 
to  steal  them,  thou  wilt  find  out  sables  to  be  Heaven's  livery  every 
Sunday,  and  up  with  a  godly  howl  unless  a  parson  shall  preach  in 
a  black  gown  Geneva  fashion.  Out  upon  thee  !  Go  on  with  thy 
tale,  lest  thou  finish  thy  sermon  at  Launceston  after  all. 

Yeo. — The  Lord's  people  were  always  a  reviled  people  and  a 
persecuted  people  :  but  I  will  go  forward,  sir  ;  for  Heaven  forbid 
but  that  I  should  declare  what  God  has  done  for  me.  For  till 
lately,  from  my  youth  up,  I  was  given  over  to  all  wretchlessness 
and  unclean  living,  and  was  by  nature  a  child  of  the  devil,  and  to 
every  good  work  reprobate,  even  as  others. 

Sir  Richard. — Hark  to  his  "even  as  others"!  Thou  new- 
whelped  Pharisee,  canst  not  confess  thine  own  villanies  without 
making  out  others  as  bad  as  thyself,  and  so  thyself  no  worse  than 
others  ?  I  only  hope  that  thou  hast  shown  none  of  thy  devil's 
doings  to  Mr.  Oxenham. 

Yeo. — On  the  word  of  a  Christian  man,  sir,  as  I  said  before,  I 
kept  true  faith  with  him,  and  would  have  been  a  better  friend  to 
him,  sir,  what  is  more,  than  ever  he  was  to  himself. 

Sir  Richard. — Alas  !  that  might  easily  be. 

Yeo. — I  think,  sir,  and  will  make  good  against  any  man,  that 
Mr.  Oxenham  was  a  noble   and  valiant  gentleman  ;  true  of  his 


WESTWARD  HOr  1 15 

word,  stout  of  hi?  sword,  skilful  by  sea  and  land,  and  worthy  to 
have  been  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England  (saving  your  worship's 
presence),  but  that  through  two  great  sins,  wrath  and  avarice,  he 
was  cast  away  miserably  or  ever  his  soul  was  brought  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  Ah,  sir,  he  was  a  captain  worth  sailing 
under  !     And  Yeo  heaved  a  deep  sigh. 

Sir  Richard. — Steady,  steady,  good  fellow  !  If  thou  wouldst 
quit  preaching,  thou  art  no  fool  after  all.  But  tell  us  the  story 
without  more  bush-beating. 

So  at  last  Yeo  settled  himselt  to  his  tale  :•- - 

"Well,  sirs,  I  went,  as  Mr.  Leigh  knows,  to  Nombre  de  Dios, 
with  Mr.  Drake  and  Mr.  Oxenham,  in  1572,  where  what  we  saw 
and  did,  your  worship,  I  suppose,  knows  as  well  as  I  ;  and  there 
was,  as  you've  heard  may  be,  a  covenant  between  Mr.  Oxenham 
and  Mr.  Drake  to  sail  the  South  Seas  together,  which  they  made, 
your  worship,  in  my  hearing,  under  the  tree  over  Panama.  For 
when  Mr.  Drake  came  down  from  the  tree,  after  seeing  the  sea 
afar  off,  Mr.  Oxenham  and  I  went  up  and  saw  it  too  ;  and  when 
we  came  down,  Drake  says,  *  John,  I  have  made  a  vow  to  God 
that  I  will  sail  that  water,  ifl  live  and  God  gives  me  grace  ;*  which 
he  had  done,  sir,  upon  his  bended  knees,  like  a  godly  man  as  he 
always  was,  and  would  1  had  taken  after  him  !  and  Mr.  O.  says, 
'I  am  with  you,  Drake,  to  live  or  die,  and  I  think  I  know  some  one 
Jhert:  already,  so  we  shall  not  be  quite  among  strangers  ;'  and 
laughed  withal.  Well,  sirs,  that  voyage,  as  you  know,  never  came 
off,  because  Captain  Drake  was  fighting  in  Ireland  ;  so  Mr.  Oxen- 
ham, who  must  be  up  and  doing,  sailed  for  himself,  and  I  who 
loved  him,  God  knows,  like  a  brother  (saving  the  difference  in  our 
ranks),  helped  him  to  get  the  crew  together,  and  went  as  his  gunner. 
That  was  in  1575  ;  as  you  know,  he  had  a  120-ton  ship,  sir,  and 
seventy  men  out  of  Plymouth  and  Fowey  and  Dartmouth,  and  many 
of  them  old  hands  of  Drake's,  beside  a  dozen  or  so  from  Bideford 
that  I  picked  up  when  I  saw  young  Master  here.'^' 

"  Thank  God  that  you  did  not  pick  me  up  too." 

"  Amen,  amen  !  "  said  Yeo,  clasping  his  hands  on  his  breast. 
"Those  seventy  men,  sir, — seventy  gallant  men,  sir,  with  every 
one  of  them  an  immortal  soul  within  him,— where  are  they  now  .? 
Gone,  like  the  spray  !  "  And  he  swept  his  hands  abroad  with ^  a 
wild  and  solemn  gesture.     "  And  their  blood  is  upon  my  head  ! " 

Both  Sir  Richard  and  Amyas  began  to  suspect  that  the  man's 
brain  was  not  altogether  sound. 

"  God  forbid,  my  man,"  said  the  knight  kindly. 
Thirteen  men  I  persuaded  to  join  in  Bideford  town,  beside 
William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  good  comrade.  And  what  i' 
it  be  said  to  me  at  the  day  of  the  judgment.  Salvation  Yeo,  where 
are  those  fourteen  whom  thou  didst  tempt  to  their  deaths  by  covet- 
ousness  and  lust  of  gold  ?  '  Not  that  1  was  alone  in  my  sin,  if  the 
truth  must  be  told.  For  all  the  way  out  Mr.  Oxenham  was  mak- 
ing loud  speech,  after  his  pleasant  way,  that  he  would  make  all 
their  fortunes,  and  take  them  to  such  a  Paradise,  that  they  should 


J  ,  ^  WESTIVARD  HO  f 

have  no  lust  to  come  home  again.  And  I— God  knows  why— for 
every  one  boast  of  his  would  make  two,  even  to  lying  and  empty 
fables,  and  anything  to  keep  up  the  men's  hearts.  For  I  had  really 
persuaded  myself  that  we  should  all  find  treasures  beyond  Solomon 
his  temple,  and  Mr.  Oxenham  would  surely  show  us  how  tc  con- 
quer some  golden  city  or  discover  some  island  all  made  of  pre- 
cious  stones.  And  one  day,  as  the  Captain  and  I  were  talking, 
after  our  fashion,  I  said,  '  And  you  shall  be  our  king.  Captain.' 
To  which  he,  '  If  I  be,  I  shall  not  be  long  without  a  queen,  and 
that  no  Indian  one  either."  And  after  that  he  often  jested  about 
the  Spanish  ladies,  saying  that  none  could  show  us  the  way  to 
their  hearts  better  than  he.  Which  speeches  I  took  no  count  of 
then,  sirs  :  but  after  I  minded  them,  whether  I  would  or  not. 
Well,  sirs,  we  came  to  the  shore  of  New  Spain,  near  to  the  old 
place— that's  Nombre  de  Dios  ;  and  there  Mr.  Oxenham  went 
ashore  into  the  woods  with  a  boat's  crew,  to  find  the  negroes  who 
helped  us  three  years  before.  Those  are  the  Cimaroons,  gentles, 
negro  slaves  who  have  fled  from  those  devils  incarnate,  their 
Spanish  masters,  and  live  wild,  like  the  beasts  that  perish  ;  men 
Df  great  stature,  sirs,  and  fierce  a3  wolves  in  the  onslaught,  but 
poor  jabbering  mazed  fellows  if  they  be  but  a  bit  dismayed  :  and 
have  many  Indian  women  with  them,  who  take  to  these  negroes  a 
deal  better  than  to  their  own  kin,  which  breeds  war  enough,  as 
you  may  guess. 

"  Well,  sirs,  after  three  days  the  Captain  comes  back,  looking 
heavy  enough,  and  says,  'We  played  our  trick  once  too  often, 
when  we  played  it  once.  There  is  no  chance  of  stopping  another 
re90  (that  is,  a  mule-train,  sirs)  now.  The  Cimaroons  say  that 
since  our  last  visit  they  never  move  without  plenty  of  soldiers,  two 
hundred  shot  at  least.  Therefore,'  he  said,  '  my  gallants,  we  must 
either  return  empty-handed  from  this,  the  very  market  and  treasury 
of  the  whole  Indies,  or  do  such  a  deed  as  men  never  did  before, 
which  I  shall  like  all  the  better  for  that  very  reason.'  And  we, 
asking  his  meaning,  •  Why,'  he  said,  '  if  Drake  will  not  sail  the 
South'^Seas,  we  will ; '  adding  profanely  that  Drake  was  like  Moses, 
who  beheld  the  promised  land  afar  ;  but  he  was  Joshua,  who 
would  enter  into  it,  and  smite  the  inhabitants  thereof.  And,  for 
our  confirmation,  showed  me  and  the  rest  the  superscription  of  a 
letter ;  and  said,  '  How  I  came  by  this  is  none  of  your  business  *. 
but  I  have  had  it  in  my  bosom  ever  since  I  left  Plymouth  ;  and  I 
tell  you  now,  what  I  forebore  to  tell  you  at  first,  that  the  South 
Seas  have  been  my  mark  all  along  !  such  news  have  I  herein  of 
plate-ships,  and  gold-ships,  and  what  not,  which  will  come  up 
from  Quito  to  Lima  this  very  month,  all  which,  with  the  pearls  of 
the  Gulf  of  Panama,  and  other  wealth  unspeakable,  will  be  ours, 
if  we  have  but  true  English  hearts  within  us.* 

"  At  which,  gentles,  we  were  like  madmen  for  lust  of  that  gold, 
and  cheerfully  undertook  a  toil  incredible  ;  for  first  we  run  our 
ship  aground  in  a  great  wood  which  grew  in  the  very  sea  itself, 
And  then  took  out  her  masts,  and  covered  her  in  boughs,  with  her 


fVESTlVARD  HO!  1 17 

four  cast  pieces  of  great  ordnance  (of  which  more  hereafter),  and 
leaving  no  man  in  her,  started  for  the  South  Seas  across  the  neck 
of  Panama,  with  two  small  pieces  of  ordnance  and  our  culverins, 
and  good  store  of  victuals,  and  with  us  six  of  those  negroes  for  a 
guide,  and  so  twelve  leagues  to  a  river  which  runs  into  the  South 
Sea. 

"  And  there,  having  cut  wood,  we  made  a  pinnace  (and  work 
enough  we  had  at  it)  of  five-and-forty  foot  in  the  keel  ;  and  in  her 
down  the  stream,  and  to  the  Isle  of  Pearls  in  the  Gulf  of  Panama." 

"  Into  the  South  Sea  ?  Impossible  !  "  said  Sir  Richard.  "  Have 
a  care  what  you  say,  my  man  ;  for  there  is  that  about  you  which 
would  make  me  sorry  to  find  you  out  a  liar." 

"  Impossible  or  not,  liar  or  none,  we  went  there,  sir." 

"  Question  him,  Amyas,  lest  he  turn  out  to  have  been  before- 
hand with  you." 

The  man  looked  inquiringly  at  Amyas,  who  said — 

"  Well,  my  man,  of  the  Gulf  of  Panama  I  cannot  ask  you,  for 
I  never  was  inside  it,  but  what  other  parts  of  the  coast  do  you 
know  ?  " 

"  Every  inch,  sir,  from  Cabo  San  Francisco  to  Lima  ;  more 
is  my  sorrow,  for  I  was  a  galley-slave  there  for  two  years  and 
more." 

"  You  know  Lima  ?  " 

"  I  was  there  three  times,  worshipful  gentlemen,  and  the  last 
was  February  come  two  years  ;  and  there  I  helped  lade  a  great 
plate-ship,  the  '  Cacafuogo,'  they  called  her." 

Amyas  started.  Sir  Richard  nodded  to  him  gently  to  be  silent, 
and  then — 

"  And  what  became  of  her,  my  lad  ?  " 

••  God  knows,  who  knows  all,  and  the  devil  who  freighted  her. 
I  broke  prison  six  weeks  afterwards,  and  never  heard  but  that  she 
got  safe  into  Panama  ?  " 

"  You  never  heard,  then,  that  she  was  taken  ?  " 

"  Taken,  your  worships  ?     Who  should  take  her  ?  " 

"  Why  should  not  a  good  English  ship  take  her  as  well  as  an- 
other ?  "  said  Amyas. 

"  Lord  love  you,  sir  ;  yes  faith,  if  they  had  but  been  there. 
Many's  the  time  that  I  thought  to  myself,  as  we  went  alongside, 
•Oh,  if  Captain  Drake  was  but  here,  well  to  windward,  and  our 
old  crew  of  the  Dragon  !  '  Ask  your  pardon,  gentles  :  but  how  is 
Captain  Drake,  if  I  may  make  so  bold  ?  " 

Neither  could  hold  out  longer. 

"  Fellow,  fellow  !  "  cried  Sir  Richard,  springing  up,  "  either 
thou  art  the  cunningest  liar  that  ever  earned  a  halter,  or  thou  hast 
done  a  deed  the  like  of  which  never  man  adventured.  Dost  thou 
not  know  that  Captain  Drake  took  that  '  Cacafuogo  '  and  all  her 
freight,  in  February  come  two  years  ?  " 

"  Captain  Drake  !  God  forgive  me,  sir  ;  but— Captain  Drake 
in  the  South  Seas  ?     He  saw  them,  sir,  from  Uic  treetop  ovei 


1 1 8  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

Panama,  when  I  was  with  him,  and  I  too  ;  but  sailed  them,  sir  ? 
— sailed  them  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  round  the  world  too,"  said  Amyas,  "  and  I  with  him  ; 
and  took  that  very  '  Cacafuogo  '  off  Cape  San  Francisco,  as  she 
came  up  to  Panama." 

One  glance  at  the  man's  face  was  enough  to  prove  his  sincerity. 
The  great  stern  Anabaptist,  who  had  not  winced  at  the  news  of 
his  mother's  death,  dropt  right  on  his  knees  on  the  floor,  and 
Durst  into  violent  sobs. 

"  Glory  to  God  !  Glor}^  to  God  !  O  Lord,  I  thank  thee  !  Cap= 
tain  Drake  in  the  South  Seas  !  The  blood  of  thy  innocents  avenged, 
O  Lord  !  The  spoiler  spoiled,  and  the  proud  robbed  ;  and  all 
they  whose  hands  were  mighty  have  found  nothing.  Glory,  glory  ! 
Oh,  tell  me,  sir,  did  she  fight  .''  " 

"  We  gave  her  three  pieces  of  ordnance  only,  and  struck  down 
her  mizen  mast,  and  then  boarded  sword  in  hand,  but  never  had 
need  to  strike  a  blow  ;  and  before  we  left  her,  one  of  her  own  boys 
had   changed   her  name,  and    rechristened  her   the  'Cacaplata.' " 

"  Glory,  glory  !  Cowards  they  are,  as  I  told  them.  I  told  them 
they  never  could  stand  the  Devon  mastiffs,  and  well  they  flogged 
me  for  saying  it  ;  but  they  could  not  stop  my  mouth.  O,  sir,  tell 
me,  did  you  get  the  ship  that  came  up  after  her  ?  " 

"  What  was  that  ?" 

"  A  long  race-ship,  sir,  from  Guayaquil,  with  an  old  gentle- 
man on  board, -^-Don  "^rancisco  de  Xararte  was  his  name,  and  by 
token,  he  had  a  gold  lalcon  hanging  to  a  chain  round  his  neck, 
and  a  green  stone  in  the  breast  of  it.  I  saw  it  as  we  rowed  him 
aboard.  O  tell  me,  sir,  tell  me  for  the  love  of  God,  did  you  take 
that  ship  ?  " 

"  We  did  take  that  ship,  and  the  jewel  too,  and  her  Majesty  has 
it  at  this  very  hour."     ^ 

"  Then  tell  me,  sir,"  said  he  slowly,  as  if  he  dreaded  an  answer  ; 
"  tell  me,  sir,  and  oh,  try  and  mind — was  there  a  little  maid 
aboard  with  the  old  gentleman  ?  " 

"  A  little  maid  .'*     Let  me  think.     No  ;  I  saw  none." 

The  man  settled  his  features  again  sadly. 

"  I  thought  not.  I  never  saw  her  come  aboard.  Still  I  hoped, 
like  ;  I  hoped.     Alackaday  !     God  help  me.  Salvation  Yeo  !  " 

"  What  have  you  to  do  with  this  little  maid,  then,  good  fellow  !  " 
asked  Grenvile. 

*'  Ah,  sir,  before  I  tell  you  that,  I  must  go  back  and  finish  ths 
story  of  Mr.  Oxenham,  if  you  will  believe  me  enough  to  hear  it." 

"  I  do  believe  thee,  good  fellow,  and  honor  thee  too." 

"Then,  sir,  I  can  speak  with  a  free  tongue.     Where  was  I  ?  " 

"  Where  was  he,  Amyas." 

"At  the  Isle  of  Pearls." 

"And  yet,  O  gentles,  tell  me  first,  how  Captain  Drake  came 
into  the  South  Seas  : — over  the  neck,  as  we  did  ?  " 

"Through  the  Straits,  good  fellow,  like  any  Spaniard  :  but  go 
on  with  thy  story,  and  thou  shalt  have  Mr.  Leigh's  after." 


PVES TWARD  HO!  1 1 9 

*•  Through  the  Straits  !  O  glory  !  But  I'll  tell  my  tale.  Well, 
sirs  both — To  the  Island  of  Pearls  we  came,  we  and  some  of  the 
negroes.  We  found  many  huts,  and  Indians  fishing  for  pearls, 
and  also  a  fair  house  with  porches  ;  but  no  Spaniard  therein,  save 
one  man  ;  at  which  Mr.  Oxenham  was  like  a  man  transported, 
and  fell  on  that  Spaniard,  crying,  '  Perro,  where  is  your  mistress  1 
Where  is  the  bark  from  Lima  ?  "  To  which  he  boldly  enough, 
'  What  was  his  mistress  to  the  Englishman  ? '  But  Mr.  O.  threat- 
ened to  twine  a  cord  round  his  head  till  his  eyes  burst  out  ;  and 
the  Spaniard,  being  terrified,  said  that  the  ship  from  Lima  was  ex- 
pected in  a  fortnight's  time.  So  for  ten  days  we  lay  quiet,  letting 
neither  negro  nor  Spaniard  leave  the  island,  and  took  good  store 
of  pearls,  feeding  sumptuously  on  wild  cattle  and  hogs  until  the 
tenth  day,  when  there  came  by  a  small  bark  ;  her  we  took,  and 
found  her  from  Quito,  and  on  board  60,000  pezos  of  gold  and  other 
store.  With  which  if  we  had  been  content,  gentlemen,  all  had 
gone  well.  And  some  were  willing  to  go  back  at  once,  having 
both  treasure  and  pearls  in  plenty  ;  but  Mr.  O.,  he  waxed  right 
mad,  and  swore  to  slay  any  one  who  made  that  motion  again,  as- 
suring us  that  the  Lima  ship  of  which  he  had  news  was  far  greater 
and  richer,  and  would  make  princes  of  us  all  ;  which  bark  came 
in  sight  on  the  sixteenth  day,  and  was  taken  without  shot  or 
slaughter.  The  taking  of  which  bark,  I  verily  believe,  was  the 
ruin  of  every  mother's  son  of  us." 

And  being  asked  why,  he  answered,  "  First,  because  of  the  dis- 
content which  was  bred  thereby  ;  for  on  board  was  found  no  gold, 
but  only  100,000  pezos  of  silver." 

Sir  Richard  Grenvile, — Thou  greedy  fellow  ;  and  was  not  that 
enough  to  stay  your  stomachs  ? 

Yeo  answered  that  he  would  to  God  it  had  been  ;  and  that, 
moreover,  the  weight  of  that  silver  was  afterwards  a  hindrance  to 
them,  and  a  fresh  cause  of  discontent,  as  he  would  afterwards  de- 
clare. "  So  that  it  had  been  well  for  us,  sirs,  if  we  had  left  it  be- 
hind, as  Mr.  Drake  left  his  three  years  before,  and  carried  away 
the  gold  only.  In  which  I  do  see  the  evident  hand  of  God,  and 
His  just  punishment  for  our  greediness  of  gain  ;  who  caused  Mr. 
Oxenham,  by  whom  we  had  hoped  to  attain  great  wealth,  to  be  a 
snare  to  us,  and  a  cause  of  utter  ruin." 

"  Do  you  think,  then,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "that  Mr.  Oxenham 
deceived  you  wilfully  ?  " 

"  I  will  never  believe  that,  sir  :  Mr.  Oxenham  had  his  private 
reasons  for  waiting  for  that  ship,  for  the  sake  of  one  on  board, 
whose  face  would  that  he  had  never  seen,  though  he  saw  it  then, 
as  I  fear,  not  for  the  first  time  by  many  a  one."  And  so  was 
silent. 

"  Come,"  said  both  his  hearers,  "  you  have  brought  us  thus  far, 
and  you  must  go  on." 

"  Gentlemen,  I  have  concealed  this  matter  from  all  men,  both 
on  my  voyage  home  and  since  ;  and  I  hope  you  will  be  secret  in 
the  matter,  for  the  honor  of  my  noble  Captain  and  the  comfort  of 


T  20  PVBSTPVA/i^JD  HO  t 

his  friends  who  are  alive.  For  I  think  it  shame  to  publish  harm 
of  a  gallant  gentleman,  and  of  an  ancient  and  worshipful  family, 
,xnd  to  me  a  true  and  kind  Captain,  when  what  is  done  cannot  be 
undone,  and  least  said  soonest  mended.  Neither  now  would  I 
nave  spoken  of  it,  but  that  I  was  inwardly  moved  to  it  for  the  sake 
(.;f  that  young  gentleman  there  (looking  at  Amyas),  that  he  might 
be  warned  in  time  of  God's  wrath  against  the  crying  sin  of  adultery, 
and  flee  youthful  lusts,  which  war  against  the  soul." 

"  Thou  hast  done  wisely  enough,  then,"  said  Sir  Richard  ;  "  and 
look  to  it  if  I  do  not  reward  thee  :  but  the  young  gentleman  here, 
thank  God,  needs  no  such  warnings,  having  got  them  already, 
both  by  precept  and  example,  where  thou  and  poor  Oxenhani 
might  have  had  them  also." 

"  You  mean  Captain  Drake,  your  worship  ?  " 

"  I  do,  sirrah.  If  all  men  were  as  clean  livers  as  he,  the  worl*^ 
would  be  spared  one  half  the  tears  that  are  shed  in  it." 

"  Amen,  sir.  At  least  there  would  have  been  many  a  tear 
spared  to  us  and  ours.  For — as  all  must  out — in  that  bsrk  6f 
Lima  he  took  a  young  lady,  as  fair  as  the  sunshine,  sir,  anc 
seemingly  about  two  or  three-and-twenty  years  of  age,  having 
with  her  a  tall  young  lad  of  sixteen,  and  a  little  girl,  a  marvel- 
lously pretty  child,  of  about  six  or  seven.  And  the  lady  herself 
was  of  an  excellent  beauty,  like  a  whale's  tooth  for  whiteness,  so 
that  all  the  crew  wondered  at  her,  and  could  not  be  satisfied  with 
looking  upon  her.  And,  gentlemen,  this  was  strange,  that  the 
lady  seemed  in  no  wise  afraid  or  mournful,  and  bid  her  litt'.e  girl 
fear  nought,  as  did  also  Mr.  Oxenham  :  but  the  lau  Kept  a  very 
sour  countenance,  and  the  more  when  ht  saw  the  lady  and  Mr. 
Oxenham  speaking  together  apiirt. 

"Well,  sir,  after  this  good  luck  we  were  minded  to  have  gone 
stiaight  back  to  the  river  whence  we  came,  and  so  home  to  Eng- 
land with  all  speed.  But  Mr.  Oxenham  persuaded  us  to  return  to 
the  island,  and  get  a  few  more  pearls.  To  which  foolishness 
(which  after  caused  the  mishap)  I  verily  believe  he  was  moved 
by  the  in:>tigatio,  of  the  dc^il  and  of  that  lady.  For  as  wc 
i\'ere  about  to  go  ashore  I,  going  down  'no  the  cabin  of  the  prize, 
saw  Mr.  Oxenham  ^ad  '^at  lady  -  laking  great  cheer  of  each  other 
*vith,  '  My  life,'  and  '  My  king,'  and  '  Light  of  my  eyes,'  and  such 
toys;  andbeingbiddenby  Mr.  Oxenham  tr  f-tch  out  the  lady's  mails, 
and  take  them  ashore,  heard  how  the  two  laughed  together  about 
;he  old  ape  ot  Panama  (which  ape,  or  devil  rather,  I  saw  afterwards 
■-O  my  cost),  and  also  how  she  said  tl.^..  she  had  been  dead  for  frc 
/ears,  and  now  that  Mr.  Oxenham  was  come,  she  was  alive  agsin 
and  CO  forth. 

"  Mr.  Oxenham  bade  take  the  little  maid  ashore,  kissing  her  :.:id 
plaving  with  her,  and  saying  to  the  lady,  '  What  is  yours  i-  mine, 
and  what  is  mine  is  yours.'  And  she  asking  whether  the  lad 
should  come  ashore,  he  answered,  '  He  is  neither  yours  nor  mine  ; 
let  the  spawn  of  Beelzebub  stay  on  shore.'  /ifter  which  I,  coming 
on  deck  aeain,  stumbled  over  that  v^Vy  lad,  upon  the  hatchway 


l^ESTWARD  HOi  121 

ladder,  who  bore  so  black  and  despiteful  a  face,  that  I  veiily  be 
lieve  he  had  overheard  their  speech,  and  so  thrust  him  upon  deck  ; 
and  going  below  again,  told  Mr.  Oxenham  what  I  thought,  and 
said  that  it  were  better  to  put  a  dagger  into  him  at  once,  profess-- 
ing  to  be  ready  so  to  do.  For  which  grievous  sin,  seeing  that  it 
was  committed  in  my  unregenerate  days,  I  hope  I  have  obtained 
the  grace  of  forgiveness,  as  1  have  that  of  hjarty  repentance.  But 
the  lady  cried  out,  '  Though  he  be  i)  jne  ofniine,  I  have  sin  enough 
already  on  my  soul  ;' and  so  laid  her  har.d  on  Mr.  Oxenham's 
mouth  entreating  pitifully.  And  Mr.  Oxenham  answered  laughing, 
when  she  would  let  him,  'What  care  we  ?  let  the  young  monkey 
go  and  howl  to  the  old  one  ;'  and  so  went  ashore  with  the  lady 
to  that  house,  whence  for  three  days  he  never  came  forth,  and 
would  have  remained  longer,  but  that  the  men,  finding  but  few 
pearls,  and  being  wearied  with  the  watching  and  warding  so 
many  Spaniards,  and  negroes  came  clamoring  to  him,  and  swore 
that  they  would  return  or  leave  him  there  with  the  lady.  So  all 
went  on  board  the  pinnace  again,  every  one  in  ill  humor  with  the 
Captain,  and  he  with  them. 

"  Well,  sirs,  we  came  back  to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  there 
began  our  troubles  ;  for  the  negroes,  as  soon  as  we  were  on  shore, 
called  on  Mr.  Oxenham  to  fultil  the  bargain  he  had  made  with 
them.  And  now  it  came  out  (what  few  of  us  knew  till  then)  that 
he  had  agreed  with  the  Cimaroons  that  they  should  have  all  the 
prisoners  which  were  taken,  save  the  gold.  And  he,  though  loth, 
was  about  to  give  up  the  Spaniards  to  them,  near  forty  in  all,  sup- 
posing that  they  intended  to  use  them  as  slaves  :  but  as  we  all 
stood  talking,  one  of  the  Spaniards,  understanding  what  was  for- 
ward, threw  himself  on  his  knees  before  Mr.  Oxenham,  and  shriek- 
ing like  a  madman,  entreated  not  to  be  given  up  into  the  hands  of 
*  those  devils,'  said  he,  'who  never  take  a  Spanish  prisoner,  but 
they  roast  him  alive,  and  then  eat  his  heart  among  them.'  We 
asked  the  negroes  if  this  was  possible  ?  To  which  some  answered, 
What  was  that  to  us  ?  But  others  said  boldly,  that  it  was  true 
enough,  and  that  revenge  made  the  best  sauce,  and  nothing  was 
so  sweet  as  Spanish  blood  ;  and  one,  pointing  to  the  lady,  said 
such  foul  and  devilish  things  as  I  should  be  ashamed  either  for 
me  to  speak,  or  you  to  hear.  At  this  we  were  like  men  amazed 
for  very  horror  ;  and  Mr.  Oxenham  said,  'You  incarnate  fiends,  if 
you  had  taken  these  fellows  for  slaves,  it  had  been  fair  enough  ; 
for  you  were  once  slaves  to  them,  and  I  doubt  not  cruelly  used 
enough  :  but  as  for  this  abomination,'  says  he,  '  God  do  so  to  me, 
ai\'  more  also,  if  I  let  one  of  them  come  into  your  murderous 
hands.'  So  there  was  a  great  quarrel  ;  but  Mr.  Oxenham  stoutly 
bade  put  the  prisoners  on  board  the  ships  again,  and  so  let  the 
prizes  go,  taking  with  him  only  the  treasure,  and  the  lady  and  the 
little  maid.  And  so  the  lad  went  on  to  Panama,  God's  wrath 
having  gone  out  against  us. 

"  Well,  sirs,  the  Cimaroons  after  that  went  away  from  us,  swear- 
'^ng  revenge  (for  which  we  cared  Uttle  enough),  and  we  rowed   up 


522  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

Ihe  river  to  a  place  where  three  streams  met,  and  then  up  the  least 
i)f  the  three,  some  four  days' journey,  till  it  grew  all  shoal  and 
swift ;  and  there  we  hauled  the  pinnace  upon  the  sands,  and  Mr. 
Oxenham  asked  the  men  whether  they  were  willing  to  carry  the 
gold  and  silver  over  the  mountains  to  the  North  Sea.  Some  of 
them  at  first  were  loath  to  do  it,  and  I  and  others  advised  that  we 
should  leave  the  plate  behind,  and  take  the  gold  only,  for  it  would 
have  cost  us  three  or  four  journeys  at  the  least.  But  Mr.  Oxenham 
promised  every  man  loo  pezos  of  silver  over  and  above  his  wages, 
which  made  them  content  enough,  and  we  were  all  to  start  the  mor- 
row morning.  But,  sirs,  that  night,  as  God  had  ordained,  came  a 
mishap  by  some  rash  speeches  of  Mr.  Oxenham's,  which  threw  all 
abroad  again  ;  for  when  we  had  carried  the  treasure  about  half  a 
league  inland,  and  hidden  it  away  in  a  house  which  we  made  of 
boughs,  Mr.  O.  being  always  full  of  that  his  fair  lady,  spoke  to  me 
and  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  good  comrade,  and  a  few 
more,  saying,  '  That  we  had  no  need  to  return  to  England,  seeing 
that  we  were  already  in  the  very  garden  of  Eden,  and  wanted  for 
nothing,  but  could  live  without  labor  or  toil  ;  and  that  it  was 
better,  when  we  got  over  to  the  North  Sea,  to  go  and  seek  out 
some  fair  island,  and  there  dwell  in  joy  and  pleasure  till  our  lives' 
end.  And  we  two,'  he  said,  '  will  be  king  and  queen,  and  you, 
whom  I  can  trust,  my  officers  ;  and  for  servants  we  will  have  the 
Indians,  who,  I  warrant,  will  be  more  fain  to  serve  honest  and 
merry  masters  like  us  than  those  Spanish  devils,'  and  much  more 
of  the  like  ;  which  words  I  liked  well, — my  mind,  alas  !  being  given 
altogether  to  carnal  pleasure  and  vanity, — as  did  William  Pen- 
berthy, my  good  comrade,  on  whom  I  trust  God  has  had  mercy. 
But  the  rest,  sirs,  took  the  matter  all  across,  and  began  murmur- 
ing against  the  Captain,  saying  that  poor  honest  mariners  like 
them  had  always  the  labor  and  the  pain,  while  he  took  his  delight 
with  his  lady  ;  and  that  they  would  have  at  least  one  merry  night 
before  they  were  slain  by  the  Cimaroons,  or  eaten  by  panthers 
and  lagartos  ;  and  so  got  out  of  the  pinnace  two  great  skins  of 
Canary  wine,  which  were  taken  in  the  Lima  prize,  and  sat  them- 
selves down  to  drink.  Moreover,  there  were  in  the  pinnace  a 
great  sight  of  hens,  which  came  from  the  same  prize,  by  which  Mr. 
O.  set  great  store,  keeping  them  for  the  lady  and  the  little  maid  ; 
and  falling  upon  these,  the  men  began  to  blaspheme,  saying, 
•  What  a  plague  had  the  Captain  to  fill  the  boat  with  dirty  live 
lumber  for  that  giglet's  sake  ?  They  had  a  better  right  to  a  good 
supper  than  ever  she  had,  and  might  fast  a  while  to  cool  her  hot 
blood  ;'  and  so  cooked  and  ate  those  hens,  plucking  them  on 
i/oard  the  pinnace,  and  letting  the  feathers  fall  into  the  stream. 
But  when  William  Penberthy,  my  good  comrade,  saw  the  feathers 
Hoating  away  down,  he  asked  them  if  they  were  mad,  to  lay  a 
trail  by  which  the  Spaniards  would  surely  track  them  out,  if  they 
came  after  them,  as  without  doubt  they  would.  But  they  laughed 
him  to  scorn,  and  said  that  no  Spanish  cur  dared  follow  on  the 
|;iecls  of  true  English  mastiffs  as  they  were,  and  other  boastfuJ 


Py£S TPVAI^D  HO!  123 

speeches ;  and  at  last,  being  heated  with  wine,  began  afresh  ta 
murmur  at  the  Captain.     And  one  speaking  of  his  counsel  abour 
the  island,  the  rest  altogether  took  it  amiss  and  out  of  the  way; 
and  some  sprang   up  crying  treason,  and   others  that  he  meant 
to  defraud  them  of  the  plate  which  he  had  promised,  and  others 
that  he   meant  to  desert  them  in  a  strange  land,  and  so  forth,  till 
Mr.  O.,  hearing  the  hubbub,  came  out  to  them  from  the  house, 
when  they  reviled  him  foully,  swearing  that  he  meant  to    cheat 
them  ;  and  one  Edward  Stiles,  a  Wapping  man,  mad  with  drink, 
dared  to  say  that  he  was  a  fool  for  not  giving  up  the  prisoners  to 
the  negroes,  and  what  was  it  to  him  if  the  lady  roasted  .''    the 
negroes  should  have  her  yet  ;  and  drawing  his  sword,  ran  upon  the 
Captain  :  for  which  I  was  about  to  strike  him  through  the  body  ; 
but  the  Captain,  not  caring  to  waste  steel  on  such  a  ribald,  with 
his  fist  caught  him  such  a  buffet  behind  the  ear,  that  he  fell  down 
stark  dead,  and  all  the  rest  stood  amazed.     Then  Mr.  Oxenham 
called  out,  '  All  honest  men  who  know  me,  and  can  trust  me,  stand 
by  your  lawful  Captain  against  these  ruffians.'     Whereon,  sirs,  I 
and  Penberthy,  my  good  comrade,  and  four  Plymouth  men,  who 
had  sailed  with  Mr.  O.  in  Mr.  Drake's  ship,  and  knew  his  trusty 
and  valiant  conditions,  came  over  to  him,  and  swore  before  God 
to  stand  by  him  and  the  lady.     Then  said  Mr.  O.  to  the  rest, '  Will 
you  carry  this    treasure,  knaves,    or  will    you    not  ?      Give   me 
an   answer  here.'     And    they  refused,  unless   he   would,   before 
they  started,  give  each  man  his  share.     So  Mr.  O.  waxed  very  mad, 
and  swore  that  he  would  never  be  served  by  men  who  did  not 
trust  him,  and  so  went  in  again  ;  and  that  night  was  spent   in 
great  disquiet,  I  and  those  five  others  keeping  watch  about  the 
house  of  boughs  till  the  rest  fell  asleep,  in  their  drink.     And  next 
morning,  when  the  wine  was  gone  out  of  them.     Mr.  O.  as've^' 
them  whether  they  would  go  to  the  hills  with  him,  and  find  those 
negroes,  and  persuade  them  after  all  to  carry  the  treasure.     To 
which  they  agreed  after  awhile,  thinking  that  so  they  should  save 
themselves  labor  ;  and  went  off  with  Mr.  Oxenham,  leaving  us  six 
who  had  stood  by  him  to  watch  the  lady  and  the  treasure,  after  he 
had  taken  an  oath  of  us  that  we  would  deal  justly  and  obediently 
by  him  and  by  her,  which  God  knows,  gentlemen,  we  did.     So  he 
parted  with  much  weeping  and  wailing  of  the  lady,  and  was  gone 
seven  days  ;  and  all  that  time  we  kept  that  lady  faithfully  and 
honestly,  bringing  her  the  best  we  could  find,  and  senung  her 
upon  our  bended  knees,  both  for  her  admirable  beauty,  and  for 
her  excellent  conditions,  for  she  was  certainly  of  some  noble  kin, 
and  courteous,  and  without   fear,  as  if  she  had   been  a  very  prin- 
cess.    But  she  kept  always  within  the  house,  which  the  little  maid 
(God  bless  her  !)  did  not,  but  soon  learned  to  play  with  us  and  we 
with  her,  so  that  we  made  great  cheer  of  her,  gentlemen,  sailor 
fashion — for  you  know  we  must  always  have  our  minions  aboard 
to  pet  and  amuse  us — maybe  a  monkey,  or  a  little  dog,  or  a  sing- 
ing bird,  ay,  or  mice  and  spiders,  if  we  have  nothing  better  to  play 
withal.     And  she  was  wonderful  sharp,  sirs,  was  the  little  maid, 


1 24  IVESTIVARD  HO  / 

and  picked  up  her  English  from  us  fast,  calling  us  jolly  mariners, 
which  I  doubt  but  she  has  forgotten  by  now,  but  I  hope  in  God  it 
be  not  so  ; "  and  therewith  the  good  fellow  began  wiping  his 
eyes. 

"  Well,  sir,  on  the  seventh  day  we  six  were  down  by  the  pin- 
nace, clearing  her  out,  and  the  little  maid  with  us  gathering  ot 
flowers,  and  William  Penberthy  fishing  on  the  bank,  about  a  hun 
dred  yards  below,  when  on  a  sudden  he  leaps  up  and  runs  towarc 
us,  crying,  '  Here  come  our  hens'  feathers  back  again  with  a 
vengeance  !  *  and  so  bade  catch  up  the  little  maid,  and  run  for  the 
house,  for  the  Spaniards  were  upon  us. 

"  Which  was  too  true  ;  for  before  we  could  win  the  house,  there 
were  full  eighty  shot  at  our  heels,  but  could  not  overtake  us  ; 
nevertheless,  some  of  them  stopping,  fixed  their  calivers  and  let 
fly,  killing  one  of  the  Plymouth  men.  The  rest  of  us  escaped  to 
the  house,  and  catching  up  the  lady,  fled  forth,  not  knowing 
whither  w^e  went,  while  the  Spaniards,  finding  the  house  and 
treasure,  pursued  us  no  farther. 

"  For  all  that  day  and  the  next  we  wandered  in  great  misery, 
the  lady  weeping  continually,  and  calling  for  Mr.  Oxenham  most 
piteously,  and  the  little  maid  likewise,  till  with  much  ado  we  found 
the  track  of  our  comrades,  and  went  up  that  as  best  we  might  : 
but  at  nightfall,  by  good  hap,  we  met  the  whole  crew  coming  back, 
and  with  them  200  negroes  or  more,  with  bows  and  arrows.  At 
which  sight  was  great  joy  and  embracing,  and  it  was  a  strange 
thing,  sirs,  to  see  the  lady  ;  for  before  that  she  was  altogether  des- 
perate :  and  yet  she  was  now  a  very  lioness,  as  soon  as  she  had 
got  her  love  again  ;  and  prayed  him  earnestly  not  to  care  for  that 

fold,  but  to  go  forward  to  the  North  Sea,  vowing  to  him  in  my 
earing  that  she  cared  no  more  for  poverty  than  she  had  cared  for 
her  good  name,  and  then — they  being  a  little  apart  from  the  rest 
— pointed  round  to  the  green  forest,  and  said  in  Spanish — which  I 
suppose  they  know  not  that  I  understood, — '  See,  all  round  us  is 
Paradise.  Were  it  not  enough  for  you  and  me  to  stay  here  for 
ever,  and  let  them  take  the  gold  or  leave  it  as  they  will  ?  " 

"  To  which  Mr.  Oxenham — '  Those  who  lived  in  Paradise  had 
not  sinned  as  we  have,  and  would  never  have  grown  old  or  sick, 
as  we  shall.* 

"  And  she — '  If  we  do  that,  there  are  poisons  enough  in  these 
woods,  by  which  we  may  die  in  each  other's  arms,  as  would  to 
Heaven  we  had  died  seven  years  agone  !  ' 

"  But  he — '  No,  no,  my  life.  It  stands  upon  my  honor  both  to 
fulfil  my  bond  with  these  men,  whom  I  have  brought  hither,  and 
to  take  home  to  England  at  least  something  of  my  prize  as  a  proof 
of  my  own  valor.' 

"  Then  she  smiling — ♦  Am  I  not  prize  enough  and  proof  enough  1 ' 
But  he  would  not  be  so  tempted,  and  turning  to  us  offered  us  the  half 
of  that  treasure,  ii  we  would  go  back  with  him,  and  rescue  it  from 
the  Spaniards.  At  which  the  lady  wept  and  wailed  much  ;  but  I 
took  upon  myself  to  comfort  her,  though  I  was  but  a  simple  mari* 


WESTWARD  HOI  125 

tier,  telling  her  that  it  stood  upon  Mr.  Oxenham's  honor  ;  and  that 
in  England  nothing  was  esteemed  so  foul  as  cowardice,  or  break- 
ing word  or  troth  betwixt  man  and  man  ;  and  that  better  was  it 
for  him  to  die  seven  times  by  the  Spaniards,  than  to  face  at  home 
the  scorn  of  all  who  sailed  the  seas.  So,  after  much  ado,  back 
they  went  again  ;  I  and  Penberthy,  and  the  three  Plymouth  men 
which  escaped  from  the  pinnace,  keeping  the  lady  as  before. 

"  Well,  sirs,  we  waited  five  days,  having  made  houses  of  boughs 
as  before,  without  hearing  aught  ;  and  on  the  sixth  we  saw  coming 
afar  off  Mr.  Oxenham,  and  with  him  fifteen  or  twenty  men,  who 
seemed  very  weary  and  wounded  ;  and  when  we  looked  for  the 
rest  to  be  behind  them,  behold  there  w^ere  no  more  ;  at  which, 
sirs,  as  you  may  well  think,  our  ncarts  sank  within  us. 

"And  Mr.  O.,  coming  nearer,  cried  out  afar  off,  '  All  is  lost ! ' 
and  so  walked  into  the  camp  without  a  word,  and  sat  himself 
down  at  the  foot  of  a  great  tree  with  his  head  between  his  hanos, 
speaking  neither  to  the  lady  or  to  any  one,  till  she  very  pitifully 
kneeling  before  him,  cursing  herself  for  the  cause  of  all  his  mis- 
chief, and  praying  him  to  avenge  himself  upon  that  her  tender 
body,  won  him  hardly  to  look  once  upon  her,  after  which  (as  is  V-c 
way  of  vain  and  unstable  man)  all  between  them  was  as  before. 

"  But  the  men  were  full  of  curses  against  the  negroes,  for  theii 
cowardice  and  treachery;  yea,  and  against  high  Heaven  itself, 
which  had  put  the  most  part  of  their  ammunition  into  the  Span- 
iards' hands  ;  and  told  me,  and  I  believe  truly,  how  they  forced 
the  enemy  awaiting  them  in  a  little  copse  of  great  trees  well 
fortified  with  barricades  of  boughs,  and  having  with  them  our 
two  falcons,  which  they  had  taken  out  of  the  pinnace.  And  how 
Mr.  Oxenham  divided  both  the  English  and  the  negroes  into  two 
bands,  that  one  might  attack  the  enemy  in  iront,  and  the  other  in 
the  rear,  and  so  set  upon  them  with  great  fury,  and  would  have 
utterly  driven  them  out,  but  that  the  negroes,  who  had  come  on 
with  much  howling,  like  very  wild  beasts,  being  suddenly  scared 
with  the  shot  and  noise  of  the  ordnance,  turned  and  fled,  leaving 
the  Englishmen  alone  ;  in  which  evil  strait  Mr.  O.  fought  like  a 
very  Guy  of  Warwick,  and  I  verily  believe  every  man  of  them  like- 
wise ;  for  there  was  none  of  them  who  had  not  his  shrewd  scratch 
to  show.  And  indeed,  Mr.  Oxenham's  party  had  once  gotten 
within  the  barricades,  but  the  Spaniards  being  sheltered  by  the 
tree  trunks  (and  especially  by  one  mighty  tree,  which  stood  as  I 
remembered  it,  and  remember  it  now,  borne  up  two  fathoms  high 
upon  its  own  roots,  as  it  were  upon  arches  and  pillars),  shot  at 
them  with  such  advantage,  that  they  had  several  slain,  and  seven 
more  taken  alive,  only  among  the  roots  of  that  tree.  So  seeing 
that  they  could  prevail  nothing,  having  little  but  their  pikes  and 
swords,  they  were  fain  to  give  back  ;  though  Mr.  Oxenham  swore 
he  would  not  stir  a  foot,  and  making  at  the  Spanish  Captain  was 
borne  down  with  pikes,  and  hardly  pulled  away  by  some,  who  at 
last  reminding  him  of  his  lady,  persuaded  him  to  come  away  with 
the  rest.     Whereon  the  other  party  fled  also  ;  but  what  had  be- 


,26  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

come  of  them  they  knew  not,  for  they  took  another  way.  And  so 
they  miserably  drew  off,  having-  lost  in  men  eleven  killed  and  seven 
taken  alive,  besides  five  of  the  rascal  negroes  who  were  killed  be- 
fore  they  had  time  to  run  ;  and  there  was  an  end  of  the  matter.* 

"  But  the  next  day,  gentlemen,  in  came  some  five  and  twenty 
more,  being  the  wreck  of  the  other  party,  and  with  them  a  few 
neo-roes  ;  and  these  last  proved  themselves  no  honester  men  than 
they  were  brave,  for  there  being  great  misery  am.ong  us  English, 
and  every  one  of  us  straggling  where  he  could  to  get  food,  every 
day  one  or  more  who  went  out  never  came  back,  and  that  caused 
a  suspicion  that  the  negroes  had  betrayed  them  to  the  Spaniards, 
or  may  be,  slain  and  eaten  them.  So  these  fellows  being  up- 
braided, with  that  altogether  left  us,  telling  us  boldly,  that  if  they 
had  eaten  our  fellows,  we  owed  them  a  debt  instead  of  the  Span- 
ish prisoners  ;  and  we,  in  great  terror  and  hunger,  went  forward 
and  over  the  mountains  till  we  came  to  a  little  river  which  ran 
northward,  which  seemed  to  lead  into  the  Northern  Sea  ;  and 
there  Mr.  O.— who,  sirs,  I  will  say,  after  his  first  rage  was  over, 
behaved  himself  all  through  like  a  valiant  and  skillful  commander 
— bade  us  cut  down  trees  and  make  canoes,  to  go  down  to  the 
sea  ;  which  we  began  to  do  with  great  labor  and  little  profit,  hew- 
ing down  trees  with  our  swords,  and  burning  them  out  with  fire, 

*  In  the  documents  from  which  I  have  drawn  this  veracious  history,  a  note  is  appended « 
this  point  of  Yeo's  story,  which  seems  to  me  to  smack  sufficiently  of  the  old  Elizabethan 
seaman,  t(7  be  inserted  at  length.  ,.       ,         ,        ,  ,•  ,       , 

<'  All  so  far,  and  most  after,  agreeth  with  Lopez  Vaz  his  tale,  taken  from  his  pocket  by 
my  Lord  Cumberland's  manners  at  the  r|ver  Plate,  in  the  year  1586.  But  note  here  his  vain- 
glorv  and  falsehood,  or  else  fear  of  the  Spaniard. 

"First,  lest  it  should  be  seen  how  great  an  advantage  the  Spaniards  had,  he  maketh  no 
mention  of  the  English  calivers,  nor  those  two  pieces   of  ordnance  which  were  in  the  pin- 

"  Second,  he  saith  nothing  of  the  flight  of  the  Cimaroons  :  though  it  was  evidently  to  be 
gathered  from  that  which  lie  himself  saith,  that  of  less  than  seventy  English  were  slain 
eleven,  and  of  the  negroes  but  five.  And  while  of  the  English  seven  were  taken  alive,  yet 
of  the  negroes  none.     And  whv,  but  because  the  rascals  ran  ?  ,-     ,    ,     ,      ,,  . 

"Thirdly,  it  is  a  thing  incredible,  and  out  of  experience,  that  eleven  English  should  be 
slain  and  seven  taken,  with  loss  only  of  two  Spaniards  killed. 

"  Search  now,  and  see  (for  I  will  not  speak  of  mine  own  small  domgs),  m  all  those  memo- 
rable voyages,  which  the  worthy  and  leamed  Mr.  Hakluyt  hath  so  pamfully  collected,  and 
which  are  to  my  old  age  next  only  to  my  Bible,  whether  in  all  the  fights  which  we  have  en- 
dured with  the  Spaniards,  their  loss,  even  in  victory,  hath  not  far  exceeded  ours.  For  we 
are  both  bigger  of  body  and  fiercer  of  spirit,  being  even  to  the  poorest  of  us  (thanks  to  the 
care  of  our  ^illustrious  princes),  the  best  fed  men  of  Europe,  the  most  trained  to  feats  ot 
strength  and  use  of  weapons,  and  put  o.a-  trust  also  not  in  any  Virgin  or  saints,  dead  rags 
and  bones,  painted  idols  which  have  no  breath  in  iheir  mouths,  or  St.  Bartholomew  medals 
and  such  devil's  remembrances  ;  but  in  the  oivy  true  God  and  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in 
whom  whosoever  trusteth,  one  of  them  shall  chase  a  thousand.  So  I  hold,  having  had  good 
experience  ;  and  say,  if  thev  have  done  it  once,  l-.-t  them  do  it  again,  and  icill  their  eleven  to 
our  two,  with  any  weapon  they  will,  save  papei  bullets  blown  out  of  Fame's  lymg  trumpet^ 
Yet  I  have  no  quarrel  with  the  poor  Portugal  :  for  I  doubt  not  but  friend  Lopez  Vaz  liaa 
looking  over  his  shoulder  as  he  wrote  some  miehtv  black  velvet  Don,  with  a  name  as  long  as 
that  Don  Bernaldino  Dekadillo  da  Avallaneda  who  set  forth  latelv  his  vainglorious  iibel  oi 
lies  concerning  the  last  and  fatal  voyage  of  mv  dear  friends  Sir  F.  Drake  and  Sir  Jnlm  Haw- 
kins, who  rest  in  peace,  having  finished  their  l.ibors,  as  would  God  I  rested.  To  whose 
shameless  and  unspeakable  Iving  mv  good  friend  Mr.  Henry  Savile  of  this  country  did  mos' 
pithily  and  wittily  reply,  stripping  the  ass  out  of  his  lion's  skin  ;  and  Sir  Thomas  Basker- 
ville,  general  of  the  fleet,  by  my  advice,  send  him  a  cartel  of  defiance,  offering  to  meet  liim 
with  choice  of  weapons,  in  any  indifferent  kingdom  of  equal  distance  from  this  realm  ;  which 
challenge  he  hath  prudently  put  in  his  pipe,  or  rather  rolled  it  up  for  one  of  his  Spau?sh 
cigarros,  and  smoked  it,  and  I  doubt  not,  found  it  foul  in  the  mouth." 


tV£S TWARD  HO!  127 

which,  after  much  labor,  we  kindled  ;  but  as  we  were  a-burning 
out  of  the  first  tree,  and  cutting  down  of  another,  a  great  party 
of  negroes  came  upon  us,  and  with  much  friendly  show  bade  us 
flee  for  our  lives,  for  the  Spaniards  were  upon  us  in  great  force. 
And  so  we  were  up  and  away  again,  hardly  able  to  drag  our  legs 
after  us  for  hunger  and  weariness,  and  the  broiling  heat.  And 
some  were  taken  (God  help  them  !)  and  some  fled  with  the  negroes, 
of  whom  what  became  God  alone  knoweth  ;  but  eight  or  ten  held 
on  with  the  Captain,  among  whom  was  I,  and  fled  downward  to- 
ward the  sea  for  one  day  ;  but  afterwards  finding,  by  the  noise  in 
the  woods,  that  the  Spaniards  were  on  the  track  of  us,  we  turned 
up  again  toward  the  inland,  and  coming  to  a  cliff,  climbed  up 
over  It,  drawing  up  the  lady  and  the  little  maid  with  cords  of  liana 
(which  hang  from  those  trees  as  honeysuckle  does  here,  but  ex- 
ceeding stout  and  long,  even  to  fifty  fathoms)  ;  and  so  breaking 
the  track,  hoped  to  be  out  of  the  way  of  the  enemy. 

"  By  which,  nevertheless,  we  only  increased  our  misery.  For 
two  fell  from  that  cliff,  as  men  asleep  for  very  \veariness,  and  mis- 
erably broke  their  bones  ;  and  others,  whether  by  the  great  toil,  or 
sunstrokes,  or  eating  of  strange  berries,  fell  sick  of  fluxes  and 
fevers  ;  where  was  no  drop  of  water,  but  rock  of  pumice  stone  as 
bare  as  the  back  of  my  hand,  and  full,  moreover,  of  great  cracks, 
black  and  without  bottom,  over  which  we  had  not  strength  to  lift 
the  sick,  but  were  fain  to  leave  them  there  aloft,  in  the  sunshine, 
like  Dives  in  his  torments,  crying  aloud  for  a  drop  of  water  to 
cool  their  tongues;  and  every  man  a  great  stinking  vulture  or 
two  sitting  by  him,  like  an  ugly  black  fiend  out  of  the  pit,  waiting 
till  the  poor  soul  should  depart  out  of  the  corpse  :  but  nothing 
could  avail,  and  for  the  dear  life  we  must  down  again  and  into  the 
woods,  or  be  burned  up  alive  upon  those  rocks. 

"  So  getting  down  the  slope  on  the  farther  side,  we  came  into 
the  woods  once  more,  and  there  wandered  for  many  days,  I  know 
not  how  many  ;  our  shoes  being  gone,  and  our  clothes  all  rent  off 
us  with  brakes  and  briars.  And  yet  how  the  lady  endured  all 
was  a  marvel  to  see  ;  for  she  went  barefoot  many  days,  and  for 
clothes  was  fain  to  wrap  herself  in  Mr.  Oxenham's  cloak  ;  while 
the  little  maid  went  all  but  naked  :  but  ever  she  looked  still  on 
Mr.  Oxenham,  and  seemed  to  take  no  care  as  long  as  he  was  by, 
comforting  and  cheering  us  all  with  pleasant  words  ;  yea,  and 
once  sitting  down  under  a  great  fig-tree,  sang  us  all  to  sleep  with 
very  sweet  music  ;  yet,  waking  about  midnight,  I  saw  her  sitting 
still  upright,  weeping  very  bitterly  ;  on  whom,  sirs,  God  have 
mercy  ;  for  she  was  a  fair  and  a  brave  jewel. 

"  And  so,  to  make  few  words  of  a  sad  matter,  at  last  there 
were  none  left  but  Mr.  Oxenham  and  the  lady  and  the  little  maid, 
together  with  me  and  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  gooci 
comrade.  And  Mr.  Oxenham  always  led  the  lady,  and  Penberthy 
and  I  carried  the  little  maid.  And  for  food  we  had  fruits,  such  as 
we  could  find,  and  water  we  got  from  the  leaves  of  certain  lilies 
which  grew  on  the  bark  of  trees,  which  I  found  by  seeing  the 


128  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

monkeys  drink  at  them  ;  and  the  little  maid  called  them  monkey- 
cups,  and  asked  for  them  continually,  making  me  climb  for  them. 
And  so  we  wandered  on,  and  upward  into  very  high  mountains, 
always  fearing  lest  the  Spaniards  should  track  us  with  dogs,  which 
made  the  lady  leap  up  often  in  her  sleep,  crying  that  the  blood- 
hounds were  upon  her.  And  it  befell  upon  a  day,  that  we  came 
into  a  great  wood  of  ferns  (which  grew  not  on  the  ground  like 
ours,  but  on  stems  as  big  as  a  pinnace's  mast,  and  the  bark  of 
them  was  like  a  fine  meshed  net,  very  strange  to  see),  where  was 
very  pleasant  shade,  cool  and  green  ;  and  there,  gentlemen,  we 
sat  down  on  a  bank  of  moss,  like  folk  desperate  and  foredone,  and 
every  one  looked  the  other  in  the  face  for  a  long  while.  After 
which  I  took  off  the  bark  of  those  ferns,  for  I  must  needs  be  doing 
something  to  drive  away  thought,  and  began  to  plate  slippers  for 
the  little  maid. 

"  And  as  I  was  plaiting,  Mr,  Oxenham  said,  '  What  hinders  us 
from  dying  like  men,  every  man  falling  on  his  own  sword  .''  '  To 
which  I  answered  that  I  dare  not  ;  for  a  wise  woman  had  proph- 
esied of  me,  sirs,  that  I  should  die  at  sea,  and  yet  neither  by  water 
or  battle,  wherefore  I  did  not  think  right  to  meddle  with  the 
Lord's  purposes.  And  William  Penberthy  said,  '  That  he  would 
sell  his  life,  and  that  dear,  but  never  give  it  away.'  But  the  lady 
said,  'Ah,  how  gladly  would  I  die!  but  then  fa  pauvre  garse,' 
which  is  in  French  '  the  poor  maid,'  meaning  the  little  one.  Then 
Mr,  Oxenham  fell  into  a  very  great  weeping,  a  weakness  I  never 
saw  him  in  before  or  since  ;  and  with  many  tears  besought  me 
never  to  desert  that  little  maid,  whatever  might  befall  ;  which  I 
promised,  swearing  to  it  like  a  heathen,  but  would,  if  I  had  been 
able,  have  kept  it  like  a  Christian.  But  on  a  sudden  there  was  a 
great  cry  in  the  wood,  and  coming  through  the  trees  on  all  sides 
Spanish  arquebusiers,  a  hundred  strong  at  least,  and  negroes  with 
them,  who  bade  us  stand  or  they  would  shoot.  William  Penber- 
thy leapt  up,  crying,  'Treason!'  and  running  upon  the  nearest 
negro  ran  him  through,  and  then  another,  and  then  falling  on  the 
Spaniards,  fought  manfully  till  he  was  borne  down  with  pikes,  and 
so  died.  But  I,  seeing  nothing  better  to  do,  sate  still  and  finished 
my  plaiting.  And  so  we  were  all  taken,  and  I  and  Mr,  Oxenham 
bound  with  cords  ;  but  the  soldiers  made  a  litter  for  the  lady  and 
child,  by  commandment  of  Senor  Diego  de  Trees,  their  command- 
er, a  very  courteous  gentleman. 

"  Well,  sirs,  we  were  brought  down  to  the  place  where  the  house 
of  boughs  had  been  by  the  river-side  :  there  we  went  over  in  boats, 
and  found  waiting  for  us  certain  Spanish  gentlemen,  and  among 
others  one  old  and  ill-favored  man,  gray-bearded  and  bent,  in  a 
suit  of  black  velvet,  who  seemed  to  be  a  great  man  among  them. 
And  if  you  will  believe  me,  Mr.  Leigh,  that  was  none  other  than 
the  old  man  with  the  gold  falcon  at  his  breast,  Don  Francisco 
Xararte  by  name,  whom  you  found  aboard  of  the  Lima  ship. 
And  had  you  known  as  much  of  him  as  I  do,  or  as  Mr.  Oxenham 


WESTIVARD  HO  t  1 25 

did  either,  you  had  cut  him  up  for  shark's  bait,  or  ever  you  let  the 
cur  ashore  again. 

"  Well,  sirs,  as  soon  as  the  lady  came  to  shore,  that  old  man 
ran  upon  her  sword  in  hand,  and  would  have  slain  her,  but  some 
there  held  him  back.  On  which  he  turned  to,  and  reviled  with 
every  foul  and  spiteful  word  which  he  could  think  of,  so  that  some 
there  bade  him  be  silent  for  shame  ;  and  Mr.  Oxenham  said, '  It  is 
worthy  of  you,  Don  Francisco,  thus  to  trumpet  abroad  your  own 
disgrace.  Did  I  not  tell  you  years  ago  that  you  were  a  cur  ;  and 
are  you  not  proving  my  words  for  me  ? ' 

"  He  answered,  '  English  dog,  would  to  Heaven  I  had  never 
seen  you  ? ' 

"  And  Mr.  Oxenham,  '  Spanish  ape,  would  to  heaven  that  I  had 
sent  my  dagger  through  your  herring-ribs  when  you  passed  me 
behind  St.  Ildegonde's  church,  eight  years  last  Easter-eve.'  At 
which  the  old  man  turned  pale,  and  then  began  again  to  upbraid 
the  lady,  vowing  that  he  would  have  her  burnt  alive,  and  other 
devilish  words,  to  which  she  answered  at  last — 

"  'Would  that  you  had  burnt  me  alive  on  my  wedding  morning, 
and  spared  me  eight  years  of  misery  !  '     And  he — 

"  •  Misery  ?  Hear  the  witch,  Senors  !  Oh,  have  I  not  pampered 
her,  heaped  with  jewels,  clothes,  coaches,  what  not  .?  The  saints 
alone  know  what  I  have  spent  on  her.  What  more  would  she 
have  of  me  ?  ' 

"  To  which  she  answered  only  but  this  one  word,  '  Fool  ! '  but 
in  so  terrible  a  voice,  though  low,  that  they  who  were  about  to 
laugh  at  the  old  pantaloon,  were  more  minded  to  weep  for  her. 

" '  Fool  ! '  she  said  again,  after  a  while,  '  I  will  waste  no  words 
upon  you.  I  would  have  driven  a  dagger  to  your  heart  months  ago, 
but  that  I  was  loth  to  set  you  free  so  soon  from  your  gout  and 
your  rheumatism.  Selfish  and  stupid,  know  when  you  bought  my 
body  from  mv  parents,  you  did  not  buy  my  soul  !  Farewell,  my 
love,  my  life  !  and  farewell,  Senors  !  May  you  be  more  merciful 
to  your  daughters  than  my  parents  were  to  me  !  '  And  so,  catch- 
ing a  dagger  from  the  girdle  of  one  of  the  soldiers,  smote  herself 
to  the  heart,  and  fell  dead  before  them  all. 

"At  which  Mr.  Oxenham  smiled,  and  said,  '  That  was  worthy  of 
us  both.  If  you  will  unbind  my  hands,  Senors,  I  shall  be  moSt 
happy  to  copy  so  fair  a  schoolmistress.' 

''  But  Don  Diego  shook  his  head  and  said, 

"  '  It  were  well  for  you,  valiant  Sefior,  were  I  at  liberty  to  do  so  ; 
but  on  questioning  those  of  your  sailors,  whom  I  have  already 
taken,  I  cannot  hear  that  you  have  any  letters  of  licence,  either 
from  the  Queen  of  England,  or  any  other  potentate.  I  am  com- 
pelled, therefore,  to  ask  you,  whether  this  is  so  ;  for  it  is  a  matter 
of  life  and  death.' 

"  To  which  Mr.  Oxenham  answered  merrily,  '  That  so  it  was  : 
but  that  he  w-as  not  aware  that  any  potentate's  license  was  re- 
quired to  permit  a  gentleman's  meeting  his  lady  love  ;  and  that  as 
for  the  gold  which  they  had  taken,  if  they  had  never  allowed  that 


I30 


WESTIVAJ^D  HO  f 


fresh  and  fair  young  May  to  be  forced  into  marrj'in^  that  old  Jan- 
uary, he  should  never  have  meddled  with  their  gold  ;  so  that  was 
rather  their  fault  than  his.'  And  added,  that  if  he  was  to  be 
hanged,  as  he  supposed,  the  only  favor  which  he  asked  for  was  a 
long  drop  and  no  priests.  And  all  the  while,  gentlemen,  he  still 
kept  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  lady's  corpse,  till  he  was  led  away  with 
me,  while  all  that  stood  by,  God  reward  them  for  it,  lamented 
openly  the  tragical  end  of  those  two  sinful  lovers. 

"  And  now,  sirs,  what  befell  me  after  that  matters  little  ;  for  I 
never  saw  Captain  Oxenham  again,  nor  ever  shall  in  this  life." 

"  He  was  hanged,  then  ?  " 

"  So  I  heard  for  certain  the  next  year,  and  with  him  the  gunner 
and  sundry  more  :  but  some  were  given  away  for  slaves  to  the 
Spaniards,  and  may  be  alive  now,  unless,  like  me,  they  have  fallen 
into  the  cruel  clutches  of  the  Inquisition.  For  the  Inquisition 
flow,  gentlemen,  claims  the  bodies  and  souls  of  all  heretics  all 
over  tne  world  (as  the  devils  told  me  with  their  own  lips,  when  I 
pleaded  that  I  was  no  Spanish  subject);  and  none  that  it  catches, 
whether  peaceable  merchants,  or  ship-wrecked  mariners,  but  must 
turn  or  burn." 

"  But  how  did  you  get  into  the  Inquisition  ?  ' 

"  Why,  sir,  after  we  were  taken,  we  set  forth  to  go  down  the 
river  again  ;  and  the  old  Don  took  the  little  maid  with  him  in  one 
boat  (and  bitterly  she  screeched  at  parting  from  us,  and  from  the 
poor  dead  corpse),  and  Mr.  Oxenham  with  Don  Diego  de  Trees  in 
another,  and  I  in  a  third.  And  from  the  Spaniards  I  learnt  that 
we  were  to  be  taken  down  to  Lima,  to  the  Viceroy ;  but  that  the 
old  man  lived  hard  by  Panama,  and  was  going  straight  back  to 
Panama  forthwith  with  the  little  maid.  But  they  said,  '  It  will  be 
well  for  her  if  she  ever  gets  there,  for  the  old  man  swears  she  is 
none  of  his,  and  would  have  left  her  behind  him  in  the  woods, 
now,  if  Don  Diego  had  not  shamed  him  out  of  it.'  And  when  I 
heard  that,  seeing  that  there  v/as  nothing  but  death  before  me,  I 
made  up  my  mind  to  escape  ;  and  the  very  first  night,  sirs,  by 
God's  help,  I  did  it,  and  went  southward  a'way  into  the  forest, 
avoiding  the  tracks  of  the  Cimaroons,  till  I  came  to  an  Indian 
town.  And  there,  gentlemen,  I  got  more  mercy  from  heathens 
than  ever  I  had  from  Christians  ;  for  when  they  found  that  I  was 
no  Spaniard,  they  fed  me  and  gave  me  a  house,  and  a  wife  (and 
a  good  wife  she  was  to  me),  and  painted  me  all  over  in  patterns, 
as  you  see  ;  and  because  I  had  some  knowledge  of  surgery  and 
•)Iood-lettmg,  and  my  fleams  in  my  pocket,  which  were  worth  to 
me  a  fortune,  I  rose  to  great  honor  among  them,  though  they 
taught  me  more  of  simples  than  ever  I  taught  them  of  surgery. 
So  I  lived  with  them  merrily  enough,  being  a  very  heathen  like 
them,  or  indeed  worse,  for  they  worshipped  their  Xemes,  but  I 
nothing.  And  in  time  my  wife  bare  me  a  child  ;  in  looking  at 
whose  sweet  face,  gentlemen,  I  forgot  Mr.  Oxenham  and  his  litile 
maid,  and  my  oath,  ay,  and  my  native  land  also.  Wherefore  it 
was  taken  awa^''  from  me.  else  had  I  lived  and  died  as  the  beasts 


WESTIVARD  HO  I  1 3 1 

which  perish  ;  for  one  night,  after  we  were  all  lain  down,  came  a 
noise  outside  the  town,  and  I  starting  up  saw  armed  men  and 
calivers  shining  in  the  moonlight,  and  heard  one  read  in  Spanish 
with  a  loud  voice,  some  fool's  sermon,  after  their  custom  when  they 
hunt  the  poor  Indians,  how  God  had  given  to  St.  Peter  the  domin- 
ion of  the  whole  earth,  and  St,  Peter  again  the  Indians  to  the 
Catholic  king  ;  wherefore,  if  they  would  all  be  baptized  and  serve 
the  Spaniards,  they  should  have  some  monkey's  allowance  or 
other  of  more  kicks  than  pence;  and  if  not,  then  have  at  them 
Avith  fire  and  sword  ;  but  I  dare  say  your  worships  know  that 
devilish  trick  of  theirs  better  than  I." 

"  I  know  it,  man.     Goon." 

"  Well — no  sooner  were  the  words  spoken  than,  without  waiting 
to  hear  what  the  poor  innocents  within  would  answer  (though  that 
mattered  little,  for  they  understood  not  one  word  of  it),  what  do 
the  villains  but  let  fly  right  into  the  town  with  their  calivers,  and 
then  rush  in,  sword  in  hand,  killing  pell-mell  all  they  met,  one  of 
which  shots,  gentlemen,  passing  through  the  doorway,  and  close 
by  me,  struck  my  poor  wife  to  the  heart,  that  she  never  spoke 
word  more.  I,  catching  up  the  babe  from  her  breast,  tried  to 
run  :  but  when  I  saw  the  town  full  of  them,  and  their  dogs  with 
them  in  leaches,  which  was  yet  worse,  I  knew  all  was  lost,  and 
sat  down  again  by  the  corpse  with  the  babe  on  my  knees,  waiting 
the  end,  like  one  stunned  and  in  a  dream  ;  for  now  I  thought 
God  from  whom  I  had  fled  had  surely  found  me  out,  as  He  did 
Jonah,  and  the  punishment  of  all  my  sins  was  come.  Well,  gen- 
tlemen, they  dragged  me  out,  and  all  the  young  men  and  women, 
and   chained  us  together  by  the  neck  ;  and,  one,  catching  the 

Eretty  babe  out  of  my  arms,  calls  for  water  and  a  priest  (for  they 
ad  their  shavelings  with  them),  and  no  sooner  was  it  christened 
than  catching  the  babe  by  the  heels,  he  dashed  out  its  brains,— 
oh  !  gentlemen,  gentlemen  ! — against  the  ground,  as  if  it  had  been 
a  kitten  ;  and  so  did  they  to  several  more  innocents  that  night,  after 
they  had  christened  them  ;  saying  it  was  best  for  them  to  go  to 
heaven  while  they  were  still  sure  thereof;  and  so  marched  us  all 
for  slaves,  leaving  the  old  folk  and  the  wounded  to  die  at  leisure. 
But  when  morning  came,  and  they  knew  by  my  skin  that  I  was  no 
Indian,  and  by  my  speech  that  I  was  no  Spaniard,  they  began 
threatening  me  with  torments,  till  I  confessed  that  I  was  an 
Englishman,  and  one  of  Oxenham's  crew.  At  that  says  the 
leader,  '  Then  you  shall  to  Lima,  to  hang  by  the  side  of  your  Cap- 
tain the  pirate  ;  by  which  I  first  knew  that  my  poor  Captain  was 
certainly  gone  ;  but  alas  for  me  !  the  priest  steps  in  and  claims  me 
for  his  booty,  calling  me  Lutheran,  heretic,  and  enemy  of  God  ; 
and  so,  to  make  short  of  a  sad  story,  to  the  Inquisition  at  Cartha- 
f^ena  I  went,  where  what  I  suffered,  gentlemen,  were  as  disgustful 
tor  you  to  hear,  as  unmanly  for  me  to  complain  of;  but  so  it  was, 
that  being  twice  racked,  and  having  endured  the  water-torment 
as  best  I  could,  I  was  put  to  the  scarpines,  whereof  I  am,  as  you 
see,  somewhat  lame  of  one  leg  to  this  day.     At  which  I  could 


^32 


WESTWARD  HOI 


abide  no  more,  and  so,  wretch  thai  I  am  !  denied  my  God,  in  hope 
to  save  my  life  ;  which  indeed  I  did,  but  little  it  profited  me  ;  for 
though  I  had  turned  to  their  superstition,  I  must  have  two  hundred 
stripes  in  the  public  place,  and  then  go  to  the  galleys  for  seven 
years.  And  there  gentlemen,  ofttimes  I  thought  that  it  had  been 
better  for  me  to  have  been  burned  at  once  and  for  all :  but  you 
know  as  well  as  I  what  a  floating  hell  of  heat  and  cold,  hunger 
and  thirst,  stripes  and  toil,  is  every  one  of  those  accursed  craft.  In 
which  hell,  nevertheless,  gentlemen,  I  found  the  road  to  heaven,— 
1  had  almost  said  heaven  itself.  For  it  fell  out,  by  God's  mercy, 
that  my  next  comrade  was  an  Englishman  like  myself,  a  young 
man  of  Bristol,  who,  as  he  told  me,  had  been  some  manner  of  factor 
on  board  poor  Captain  Barker's  ship,  and  had  been  a  preacher 
among  the  Anabaptists  here  in  England.  And  oh  !  Sir  Richard 
Grenvile,  if  that  man  had  done  for  you  what  he  did  for  me,  you 
would  never  say  a  word  against  those  who  serve  the  same  Lord, 
because  they  don't  altogether  hold  with  you.  For  from  time  to  time, 
sir,  seeing  me  altogether  despairing  and  furious,  like  a  wild  beast 
in  a  pit,  he  set  before  me  in  secret  earnestly  the  sweet  promises  of 
God  in  Christ, — who  says,  'Come  to  me,  all  ye  that  are  heavy 
laden,  and  I  will  refresh  you  ;  and  though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet, 
they  shall  be  as  white  as  snow,' — till  all  that  past  sinful  life  of  mine 
looked  like  a  dream  when  one  awaketh,  and  I  forgot  all  my 
bodily  miseries  in  the  misery  of  my  soul,  so  did  I  loathe  and  hate 
myself  for  my  rebellion  against  that  loving  God  who  had  chosen 
me  before  the  foundation  of  the  world,  and  come  to  seek  and  save 
me  when  I  was  lost ;  and  falling  into  very  despair  at  the  burden  of 
my  heinous  sins,  knew  no  peace  until  I  gained  sweet  assurance 
that  my  Lord  had  hanged  my  burden  upon  His  cross,  and  washed 
my  sinful  soul  in  His  most  sinless  blood,  Amen  !  " 

And  Sir  Richard  Grenvile  said  Amen  also. 

"  But,  gentlemen,  if  that  sweet  youth  won  a  soul  to  Christ,  he 
paid  as  dearly  for  it  as  ever  did  saint  of  God.  For  after  a  three 
or  four  months,  when  I  had  been  all  that  while  in  sweet  converse 
with  him,  and  I  may  say  in  heaven  in  the  midst  of  hell,  there  came 
one  night  to  the  barranco  at  Lima,  where  we  were  kept  when  on 
shore,  three  black  devils  of  the  Holy  Office,  and  carried  him  off 
without  a  word,  only  saying  to  me,  '  Look  that  your  turn  come  not 
next,  for  we  hear  that  you  have  had  much  talk  with  the  villain,' 
And  at  these  words  I  was  so  struck  cold  with  terror  that  I  swooned 
right  away,  and  verily,  if  they  had  taken  me  there  and  then,  1 
should  have  denied  my  God  again,  for  my  faith  was  but  young  and 
weak  :  but  instead,  they  left  me  aboard  the  galley  for  a  few  months 
more  (that  was  a  whole  voyage  to  Panama  and  back),  in  daily 
dread  lest  I  should  find  myself  in  their  cruel  claws  again — and 
then  nothing  for  me,  but  to  burn  as  a  relapsed  heretic.  But  when 
we  came  back  to  Lima,  the  officers  came  on  board  again,  and 
said  to  me,  '  That  heretic  has  confessed  nought  against  you,  so 
we  will  leave  you  for  this  time:  but  because  you  have  been  seen 
talking  with  him  so  much,  and  the  Holy  Office  suspects  your  con- 


WESTWARD  HO  f  1 33 

Tcrsion  to  be  but  a  rotten  one.  you  are  adjudged  to  the  galleys  for 
the  rest  of  your  life  in  perpetual  servitude.'  " 

••  But  what  became  of  him  ?  "  asked  Amyas. 

"  He  was  burned,  sir,  a  day  or  two  before  we  got  to  Lima,  and 
five  others  with  him  at  the  same  stake,  of  whom  two  were  English- 
men ;  old  comrades  of  mine,  as  I  guess." 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  we  heard  of  that  when  we  were  off  Lima  ; 
and  they  said,  too,  that  there  were  six  more  lying  still  in  prison, 
to  be  burnt  in  a  few  days.  If  we  had  had  our  fleet  with  us  (as  we 
should  have  had  if  it  had  not  been  for  John  Winter)  we  would 
have  gone  in  and  rescued  them  all,  poor  wretches,  and  sacked  the 
town  to  boot  :  but  what  could  we  do  with  one  ship  ?  " 

"  Would  to  God  you  had,  sir  ;  for  the  story  was  true  enough  ; 
and  among  them,  I  heard,  were  two  young  ladies  of  quality  and 
their  confessor,  who  came  to  their  ends  for  reproving  out  of 
Scripture  the  filthy  and  loathsome  living  of  those  parts,  which,  as 
1  saw  well  enough  and  too  well,  is  liker  to  Sodom  than  to  a  Chris- 
tian town  ;  but  God  will  avenge  His  saints,  and  their  sins. 
Amen." 

■   '*  Amen,"  said  Sir  Richard  :  '.'  but  on  with  thy  tale,  for  it  is  as 
Strange  as  ever  man  heard." 

"Well,  gentlemen,  when  I  heard  that  I  must  end  my  days  in 
frat  galley,  I  was  for  a  while  like  a  madman  :  but  in  a  day  or  two 
there  came  over  me,  I  know  not  how,  a  full  assurance  of  salvation, 
both  for  this  life  and  the  life  to  come,  such  as  Ijhad  never  had 
before  ;  and  it  was  revealed  to  me  (I  speak  the  truth,  gentlemen, 
before  Heaven)  that  now  I  had  been  tried  to  the  uttermost,  and  that 
my  deliverance  was  at  hand. 

'♦  And  all  the  way  up  to  Panama  (that  was  after  we  had  laden 
the  '  Cacafuogo  ')  I  cast  in  my  mind  now  to  escape,  and  found  no 
way  :  but  just  as  I  was  beginning  to  lose  heart  again,  a  door  was 
opened  by  the  Lord's  own  hand  ;  for  (I  know  not  why)  we  were 
marched  across  from  Panama  to  Nombre,  which  had  never  hap- 
pened before,  and  there  put  all  together  into  a  great  barranco 
close  by  the  quay-side,  shackled,  as  is  the  fashion,  to  one  long  bar 
that  ran  the  whole  length  of  the  house.  And  the  very  first  night 
that  we  were  there,  I,  looking  out  of  the  window,  spied,  lying  close 
aboard  of  the  quay,  a  good-sized  caravel  well  armed  and  just  load- 
ing for  sea  ;  and  the  land  breeze  blew  off  very  strong,  so  that  the 
sailors  were  laying  out  a  fresh  warp  to  hold  her  to  the  shore.  And 
it  came  into  my  mind,  that  if  we  were  aboard  of  her,  we  should 
be  at  sea  in  five  minutes  ;  and  looking  at  the  quay,  I  saw  all  the 
soldiers  who  had  guarded  us  scattered  about  drinking  and  gam- 
bling, and  some  going  into  taverns  to  refresh  themselves  after  their 
journey.  That  was  just  at  sundown  ;  and  half  an  hour  after,  in 
comes  the  jailer  to  take  a  last  look  at  us  for  the  night,  and  his  keys 
at  his  girdle.  Whereon,  sirs  (whether  by  madness,  or  whether  by 
'the  spirit  which  gave  Samson  strength  to  rend  the  lion),  I  rose 
against  him  as  he  passed  me,  without  forethought  or  treachery  of 
any  kind,  chained  though  I  was,  caught  him  by  the  head,  and 


134  WESTWARD  I/O! 

threw  him  there  and  then  against  the  wall  that  he  never  spoke 
word  after  ;  and  then  with  his  keys  freed  myself  and  every  soul  in 
that  room,  and  bid  them  follow  me,  vowing  to  kill  any  man  who 
disobeyed  my  commands.  They  followed,  as  men  astounded  and 
leaping  out  of  night  into  day,  and  death  into  life,  and  so  aboard 
that  caravel  and  out  of  the  harbor  (the  Lord  only  knows  how,  who 
blinded  the  eyes  of  the  idolaters),  with  no  more  hurt  than  a  few 
chance-shot  from  the  soldiers  on  the  quay.  But  my  tale  has  been 
over-long  already,  gentlemen " 

"  Go  on  till  midnight,  my  good  fellow,  if  you  will." 

"  Well,  sirs,  they  chose  me  for  captain,  and  a  certain  Genoese 
for  lieutenant,  and  away  to  go.  I  would  fain  have  gone  ashore 
after  all,  and  back  to  Panama  to  hear  news  of  the  little  maid  :  but 
that  would  have  been  but  a  fool's  errand.  Some  wanted  to  turn 
pirates  :  but  I,  and  the  Genoese  too,  who  was  a  prudent  man, 
though  an  evil  one,  persuaded  them  to  run  for  England  and  get 
employment  in  the  Netherland  wars,  assuring  them  that  there 
would  be  no  safety  in  the  Spanish  Main,  when  once  our  escape 
got  wind.  And  the  more  part  being  of  one  mind,  for  England  we 
sailed,  watering  at  the  Barbadoes  because  it  was  desolate  ;  and  so 
eastward  toward  the  Canaries.  In  which  voyage  what  we  en- 
dured (being  taken  by  long  calms),  by  scurvy,  calentures,  hunger, 
and  thirst,  no  tongue  can  tell.  Many  a  time  were  we  glad  to  lay 
out  sheets  at  night  to  catch  the  dew,  and  suck  them  in  the  morn- 
ing ;  and  he  that  had  a  noggin  of  rain-water  out  of  the  scuppers 
was  as  much  sought  to  as  if  he  had  been  Adelantado  of  all  the 
Indies  ;  till  of  a  hundred  and  forty  poor  wretches  a  hundred  and 
ten  were  dead,  blaspheming  God  and  man,  and  above  all  me  and 
the  Genoese,  for  taking  the  Europe  voyage,  as  if  I  had  not  sins 
enough  of  my  own  already.  And  last  of  all,  when  we  thought 
ourselves  safe,  we  were  wrecked  by  south-westers  on  the  coast  of 
■prittany,  near  to  Cape  Race,  from  which  but  nine  souls  of  us  came 
ashore  with  their  lives  ;  and  so  to  Brest,  where  I  found  a  Flush- 
inger  who  carried  me  to  Falmouth  ;  and  so  ends  my  tale,  in  which 
if  I  have  said  one  word  more  or  less  than  truth,  I  can  wish 
myself  no  worse,  than  to  have  it  all  to  undergo  a  second  time." 

And  his  voice,  as  he  finished,  sank  from  very  weariness  of  soul ; 
while  Sir  Richard  sat  opposite  him  in  silence,  his  elbows  on  the 
table,  his  cheeks  on  his  doubled  fists,  looking  him  through  and 
through  with  kindling  eyes.  No  one  spoke  for  several  minutes  ; 
and  then — 

"  Amyas,  you  have  heard  this  story.     You  believe  it  ?  " 

"  Every  word,  sir,  or  I  should  not  have  the  heart  of  a  Christian 
man." 

"So  do  I.     Anthony!" 

The  butler  entered. 

"Take  this  man  to  the  buttery  ;  clothe  hira  comfortably,  and 
feed  him  with  the  best ;  and  bid  the  knaves  treat  him  as  if  he 
were  their  own  father." 

But  Yeo  lingered. 


WESTWARD  HOI 


»3S 


••  If  I  might  be  so  bold  as  to  ask  your  worship  a  favor  ? 

*'  Anything  in  reason,  my  brave  fellow." 

•'  If  your  worship  could  put  me  in  the  way  of  another  adventure 
to  the  Indies  ?  " 

"  Another  !     Hast  not  had  enough  of  the  Spaniards  already  ?  " 

"  Never  enough,  sir,  while  one  of  the  idolatrous  tyrants  is  left 
unhanged,"  said  he,  with  a  right  bitter  smile.  "  But  it's  not  for 
that  only,  sir  :  but  my  little  maid — Oh,  sir  !  my  little  maid,  that  I 
swore  to  Mr.  Oxenham  to  look  to,  and  never  sav/  her  from  that 
day  to  this  !  I  must  find  her,  sir,  or  I  shall  go  mad,  I  believe. 
Not  anight  but  she  comes  and  calls  to  me  in  my  dreams,  the  poor 
darling  ;  and  not  a  morning  but  when  I  wake  there  is  my  oath 
lying  on  my  soul,  like  a  great  black  cloud,  and  I  no  nearer  the 
keeping  of  it.  I  told  that  poor  young  minister  of  it  when  we  were 
in  the  galleys  together  ;  and  he  said  oaths  were  oaths,  and  keep  it 
I  must  ;  and  keep  it  I  will,  sir,  if  you'll  but  help  me." 

"Have  patience,  man.  God  will  take  as  good  care  of  thy  little 
maid  as  ever  thou  wilt." 

•'  I  know  it,  sir.  I  know  it :  but  faith's  weak,  sir  !  and  oh  !  if 
she  were  bred  up  a  Papist  and  an  idolater  ;  wouldn't  her  blood  be 
on  my  head  then,  sir  ?  Sooner  than  that,  sooner  than  that,  I'd 
be  in  the  Inquisition  again  to-morrow,  I  would  !  " 

"  My  good  fellow,  there  are  no  adventures  to  the  Indies  forward 
now  :  but  if  you  want  to  fight  Spaniards,  here  is  a  gentleman  will 
show  you  the  way.  Amyas,  take  him  with  you  to  Ireland.  If  he 
has  learnt  half  the  lessons  God  has  set  him  to  learn,  he  ought  to 
stand  you  in  good  stead." 

Yeo  looked  eagerly  at  the  young  giant. 

"  Will  you  have  me,  sir  ?  There's  few  matters  I  can't  turn  my 
hand  to  :  and  maybe  you'll  be  going  to  the  Indies  again,  some  day, 
eh  "i  and  take  me  with  you  ?  I'd  serve  your  turn  well,  though  I 
say  it,  either  for  gunner  or  for  pilot.  I  know  every  stone  and  tree 
from  Nombre  to  Panama,  and  all  the  ports  of  both  the  seas.  You'll 
never  be  content,  I'll  warrant,  till  you've  had  another  turn  along 
the  gold  coasts,  will  you  now  ?  " 

Amyas  laughed  and  nodded  ;  and  the  bargain  was  concluded. 

So  out  went  Yeo  to  eat,  and  Amyas  having  received  his  de- 
spatches, got  ready  for  his  journey  home. 

"  Go  the  short  way  over  the  moors,  lad  ;  and  send  back  Gary's 
gray  when  you  can.  You  must  not  lose  an  hour,  but  be  ready  to 
sail  the  moment  the  wind  goes  about." 

So  they  started  :  but  as  Amyas  was  getting  into  the  saddle,  he 
saw  that  there  was  some  stir  among  the  servants,  who  seemed  to 
keep  carefully  out  of  Yeo's  way,  whispering  and  nodding  mysteri- 
ously ;  and  just  as  his  foot  was  in  the  stirrup,  Anthony,  the  old 
butler,  plucked  him  back. 

"Dear  father  alive,  Mr.  Amyas!"  whispered  he:  "and  you 
ben't  going  by  the  moor  road  all  alone  with  that  chap  ?  " 

"  Why  not,  then  ?     I'm  too  big  for  him  to  eat,  I  reckon." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Amyas  I  he's  not  right,  I  tell  you  ;  not  company  for  a 


136  WESTWARD  HO! 

Christian — to  go  forth  with  creatures  as  has  flames  of  fire  in  their 
inwards  :  'tis  temptation  of  Providence,  indeed,  then,  it  is." 

"Tale  of  a  tub." 

"  Tale  of  a  Christian,  sir.  There  was  two  boys  pig-minding, 
seed  him  at  it  down  the  hill,  beside  a  maiden  that  was  taken 
mazed  (and  no  wonder,  poor  soul  !)  and  lying  in  screeching  as- 
terisks now  down  to  the  mill — you  ask  as  you  go  by — and  saw  the 
flames  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  mun,  and  the  smoke  out  of  mun's 
nose  like  a  vire  drake,  and  the  roaring  of  mun  like  the  roaring  ot 
ten  thousand  bulls.  Oh,  sir  !  and  to  go  with  he  after  dark  over 
moor  !  'Tis  the  devil's  devices,  sir,  against  you,  because  you'm 
going  against  his  sarvants  the  Pope  of  Room  and  the  Spaniard  ; 
and  you'll  be  Pixy-led,  sure  as  life,  and  locked  into  a  bog,  you 
win,  and  see  mun  vanish  away  to  fire  and  brimstone,  like  a  jack- 
o'-lantern.     Oh,  have  a  care,  then,  have  a  care  !  " 

And  the  old  man  wrung  his  hands,  while  Amyas,  bursting  with 
laughter,  rode  off  down  the  park,  with  the  unconscious  Yeo  at  his 
stirrup,  chatting  away  about  the  Indies,  and  delighting  Amyas 
more  and  more  by  his  shrewdness,  high  spirit,  and  rough  elo- 
quence. 

They  ha'd  gone  ten  miles  or  more  ;  the  day  began  to  draw  irt, 
and  the  western  wind  to  sweep  more  cold  and  cheerless  every 
moment,  when  Amyas,  knowing  that  there  was  not  an  inn  hard  by 
around  for  many  a  mile  ahead,  took  a  pull  at  a  certain  bottle 
which  Lady  Grenville  had  put  into  his  holster,  and  then  offered 
Yeo  a  pull  also. 

He  declined  ;  he  had  meat  and  drink  too  about  him,  Heaven  b«} 
praised  ! 

"  Meat  and  drink  ?  Fall  to,  then,  man,  and  don't  stand  on 
manners." 

Whereon  Yeo,  seeing  an  old  decayed  willow  by  a  brook,  went 
to  it,  and  took  therefrom  some  touchwood,  to  which  he  set  a  light 
with  his  knife  and  a  stone,  while  Amyas  watched,  a  little  puz- 
zled and  startled,  as  Yeo's  fiery  reputation  came  into  his  mind. 
Was  he  really  a  Salamander-Sprite,  and  going  to  warm  his  inside 
by  a  meal  of  burning  tinder  ?  But  now  Yeo,  in  his  solemn  meth- 
odical way,  pulled  out  of  his  bosom  a  brown  leaf,  and  began  rolling 
a  piece  of  it  up  neatly  to  the  size  of  his  little  finger  ;  and  then,  put- 
ting the  one  end  into  his  mouth  and  the  other  on  the  tinder,  suck- 
ed at  it  till  it  was  a-light  ;  and  drinking  down  the  smoke,  began 
puffing  it  out  again  at  his  nostrils  with  a  grunt  of  deepest  satis- 
faction, and  resumed  his  dog-trot  by  Amyas 's  side,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  walking  chimney. 

On  which  Amyas  burst  into  a  loud  laugh,  and  cried — 

"  Why,  no  wonder  they  said  you  breathed  fire  ?  Is  not  that  the 
Indians'  tobacco  ?  " 

"  Yea,  verily.  Heaven  be  praised  !  but  did  you  never  see  it  be- 
fore ?  " 

"  Never,  though  we  heard  talk  of  it  along  the  coast  ;  but  we  took 
it  for  one  more  Spanish  lie.     Humph — well,  live  and  learn  !  ". 


fV£S Tly'A/^D  HOI  137 

"  Ah,  sir,  no  lie,  but  a  blessed  truth,  as  I  can  tell,  who  have  ere 
now  gone  in  the  strength  of  Ui-:?  we^d  hi^^e  days  antl  nights  wiih- 
out  eating  ;  and  therefore,  sir,  ^he  inr.ians  always  carry  it  with 
them  on  their  war-parties  :  and  no  wonder  ;  for  when  all  things 
were  made  none  was  made  be'^sr  than  this  ;  to  be  alone  mans 
companion,  a  bachelor's  friend,  a  hungry  man's  food,  a  sad  man's 
cordial,  a  wakeful  man's  sleep,  and  a  chilly  man's  fire,  sir  ;  while 
for  stanching  of  wounds,  purging  of  rheum,  and  settling  of  the 
stomach,  there's  no  herb  like  unto  it  under  the  canopy  of  heaven." 

The  truth  of  which  eulogium  Amyas  tested  in  after  years,  as 
shall  be  fully  set  forth  in  due  place  and  time.  But  "  Mark  in  the 
meanwhile,"  says  one  of  the  veracious  chroniclers  from  whom  I 
draw  these  facts,  writing  seemingly  in  the  palmy  days  of  good 
Queen  Anne,  and  "  not  having  "  (as  he  says)  "  before  his  eyes  the 
fear  of  that  misocapnic  Solomon  James  I.  or  of  any  other  lying 
Stuart,"  "  that  not  to  South  Devon,  but  to  North  ;  not  to  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  but  to  Sir  Amyas  Leigh  ;  not  to  the  banks  of 
Dart,  but  to  the  banks  of  Torridge,  does  Europe  owe  the  day- 
spring  of  the  latter  age,  that  age  of  smoke  which  shall  endure  and 
thrive,  when  the  age  of  brass  shall  have  vanished  like  those  of  iron 
and  of  gold  ;  for  whereas  Mr.  Lane  is  said  to  have  brought  home 
that  divine  weed  (as  Spenser  well  names  it)  from  Virginia,  in  the 
year  1584,  it  is  hereby  indisputable  that^fuU  four  years  earlier,  by 
the  bridge  of  Putford  in  the  Torridge  moors  (which  all  true 
smokers  shall  hereafter  visit  as  a  hallowed  spot  and  point  of  pil- 
grimage) first  twinkled  that  fiery  beacon  and  beneficent  lodestar 
of  Bidefordian  commerce,  to  spread  hereafter  from  port  to  port 
and  peak  to  peak,  like  the  watch-fires  which  proclaimed  the 
coming  of  the  Armada  or  the  fall  of  Troy,  even  to  the  shores  of 
the  Bosphorus,  the  peaks  of  the  Caucasus,  and  the  farthest  isles  of 
the  Malayan  sea  ;  while  Bideford,  metropolis  of  tobacco,  saw  her 
Pool  choked  with  Virginian  traders,  and  the  pavement  of  the 
Bridgeland  Street  groaning  beneath  the  savory  bales  of  roll  Trina- 
dado,  leaf,  and  pudding  ;  and  her  grave  burghers,  bolstered  and 
blocked  out  of  their  own  houses  by  the  scarce  less  savory  stock- 
fish casks  which  filled  cellar,  parlor,  and  attic,  were  fain  to  sit  out- 
side the  door,  a  silver  pipe  in  every  strong  right  hand,  and  each 
left  hand  chinking  cheerfully  the  doubloons  deep  lodged  in  the 
auriferous  caverns  of  their  trunkhose  ;  while  in  those  fairy-rings 
of  fragrant  mist,  which  circled  round  their  contemplative  brows, 
flitted  most  pleasant  visions  of  Wiltshire  farmers  jogging  into 
Sherborne  fair,  their  heaviest  shillings  in  their  pockets,  to  buy 
(unless  old  Aubrey  lies)  the  lotus-leaf  of  Torridge  for  its  weight  in 
silver,  and  draw  from  thence,  after  the  example  of  the  Caciques  of 
Dariena,  supplies  of  inspiration  much  needed,  then  as  now,  in  those 
Gothamite  regions.  And  yet  did  these  improve,  as  Englishmen, 
upon  the  method  of  those  heathen  savages  ;  for  the  latter  (so 
Salvation  Yeo  reported  as  a  truth,  and  Dampier's  surgeon  Mr. 
Wafer  after  him),  when  they  will  deliberate  of  war  or  policy,  sit 
round  in  the  hut  of  the  chief  :  where  being  placed,  enter  to  them  a 


138  WES 7^ WARD  HOI 

small  boy  with  a  cigarro  of  the  bigness  of  a  rolling-pin,  and  puffs 
the  smoke  thereof  into  the  tace  of  each  warrior,  from  the  eldest  to 
the  youngest  ;  while  they,  putting  their  hand  funnel-wise  round 
their  mouths,  draw  into  the  sinuosities  of  the  brain  that  more  than 
Delphic  vapor  of  prophecy  ;  which  boy  presently  falls  down  in  a 
swoon,  and  being  dragged  out  by  the  heels  and  laid  by  to  sober, 
enter  another  to  puff  at  the  sacred  cigarro,  till  he  is  dragged  out  like- 
wise ;  and  so  on  till  the  tobacco  is  finished,  and  the  seed  of  wisdom 
has  sprouted  in  every  soul  into  the  tree  of  meditation,  bearing  the 
flowers  of  eloquence,  and  in  due  time  the  fruit  of  valiant  action." 
With  which  quaint  fact  (for  fact  it  is,  in  spite  of  the  bombast)  lend 
the  present  chapter. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

now  THE  NOBLE  BROTHERHOOD  OF  THE  ROSE  WAS  FOUNDED. 

•*,It  is  virtue,  yea  virtue,  gentlemen,  that  maketh  gentlemen  ;  that  maketh  the  poor  rich, 
the  base-bom  noble,  the  subject  a  sovereign,  the  deformed  beautiful,  the  sick  whole, 
the  weak  strong,  the  most  miserable  most  happy.  There  are  two  principal  and  peculiar 
gifts  in  the  nature  of  man,  knowledge  and  reason;  the  one  commandeth,  and  the  other 
obeyeth  :  these  things  neither  the  whirling  wheel  of  fortune  can  change,  neither  the  de- 
ceitful cavillings  of  worldlings  separate^  neither  sickness  abate,  neither  age  abolish."— 
Lilly's  Euphues,  1586. 

It  now  falls  to  my  lot  to  write  of  the  foundation  of  that  most 
thivalrous  brotherhood  of  the  Rose,  which  after  a  few  years  made 
itself  not  only  famous  in  its  native  country  of  Devon,  but  for- 
midable, as  will  be  related  hereafter,  both  in  Ireland  and  in  the 
Netherlands,  in  the  Spanish  Main  and  the  heart  of  South  America. 
And  if  this  chapter  shall  seem  to  any  Quixotic  and  fantastical,  let 
them  recollect  that  the  generation  who  spoke  and  acted  thus  in 
matters  of  love  and  honor  were,  nevertheless,  practised  and  valiant 
soldiers,  and  prudent  and  crafty  politicians  ;  that  he  who  wrote 
the  Arcadia  was  at  the  same  time,  in  spite  of  his  youth,  one  of  the 
subtlest  diplomatists  of  Europe  ;  that  the  poet  of  the  Faery  Queene 
was  also  the  author  of  The  State  of  Ireland  ;  and  if  they  shall  quote 
against  me  with  a  sneer  Lilly's  Euphues  itself,  I  shall  only  answer 
by  asking — Have  they  ever  read  it  t  For  if  they  have  done  so,  I 
pity  them  if  they  have  not  found  it,  in  spite  of  occasional  tedious- 
ness  and  pedantry,  as  brave,  righteous,  and  pious  a  book  as  man 
need  look  into  :  and  wish  for  no  better  proof  of  the  nobleness  and 
virtue  of  the  Elizabethan  age,  than  the  fact  that  "  Euphues  "  and 
the  "  Arcadia  "  were  the  two  popular  romances  of  the  day.  It  may 
have  suited  the  purposes  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his  cleverly  drawn 
Sir  Piercie  Shafton,  to  ridicule  the  Euphuists,  and  that  affectatem 
comitatem  of  the  travelled  English  of  which  Languet  complains; 
but  over  and  above  the  anachronism  of  the  whole  character  (for, 


WESTIVABD  HO!  1 39 

to  give  but  one  instance,  the  Euphuist  knight  talks  of  Sidney's 
quarrel  with  Lord  Oxford  at  least  ten  years  before  it  happened), 
we  do  deny  that  Lilly's  book  could,  if  read  by  any  man  of  common 
sense,  produce  such  a  coxcomb,  whose  spiritual  ancestors  would 
rather  have  been  Gabriel  Harvey  and  Lord  Oxford,— if  indeed  the 
former  has  not  maligned  the  latter,  and  ill-tempered  Tom  Nash 
maligned  the  maligner  in  his  turn.  .       .       .        , 

But,  indeed,  there  is  a  double  anachronism  in  Sir  Piercie  ;  to; 
he  does  not  even  belong  to  the  days  of  Sidney,  but  to  those  worse 
times  which  began  in  the  latter  years  of  Elizabeth,  and  after  break- 
ing her  mighty  heart,  had  full  licence  to  bear  their  crop  of  fools' 
heads  in  the  profligate  days  of  James.  Of  them,  perhaps,  here- 
after. And  in  the  meanwhile,  let  those  who  have  not  read  "  Eu- 
phues  "  believe  that,  if  they  could  train  a  son  after  the  fashion  of 
his  Ephcebus,  to  the  great  saving  of  their  own  money  and  his  vir- 
tue, all  fathers,  even  in  these  money-making  days,  would  rise  up 
and  call  them  blessed.  Let  us  rather  open  our  eyes,  and  see  in 
these  old  Elizabeth  gallants  our  own  ancestors,  showing  forth  with 
the  luxuriant  wildness  of  youth  all  the  virtues  which  still  go  to  the 
making  of  a  true  Englishman.  Let  us  not  only  see  in  their  coni- 
mercial  and  military  daring,  in  their  political  astuteness,  in  their 
deep  reverence  for  law,  and  in  their  solemn  sense  of  the  great 
calling  of  the  English  nation,  and  the  antitypes  or  rather  the  ex- 
amples of  our  own  :  but  let  us  confess  that  their  chivalry  is  only 
another  garb  of  that  beautiful  tenderness  and  mercy  which  is  now, 
as  it  was  then,  the  twin  sister  of  English  valor  ;  and  even  in  their 
extravagant  fondness  for  Continental  manners  and  Literature,  let 
us  recognize  that  old  Anglo-Norman  teachableness  and  wide- 
heartedness,  which  has  enabled  us  to  profit  by  the  wisdom  and 
civilization  of  all  ages  and  of  all  lands,  without  prejudice  to  our 
own  distinctive  national  character. 

And  so  I  go  to  my  story,  which,  if  any  one  dislikes,  he  has 
but  to  turn  the  leaf  till  he  finds  pasturage  which  suits  him 
better. 

Amyas  could  not  sail  the  next  day,  or  the  day  after  ;  for  the 
south-wester  freshened,  and  blew  three  parts  of  a  gale  dead  into 
the  bay.  So  having  got  the  Mary  Grenvile  down  the  river  into 
Appledore  pool,  ready  to  start  with  the  first  shift  of  wind,  he  went 
quietly  home  ;  and  when  his  mother  started  on  a  pillion  behind 
the  old  serving  man  to  ride  to  Clovelly,  where  Frank  lay  wounded, 
he  went  in  with  her  as  far  as  Bideford,  and  there  met,  coming 
down  the  High  Street,  a  procession  of  horsemen  headed  by  Will 
Gary,  who,  clad  cap-a-pie  in  shining  armor,  sword  on  thigh,  and 
helmet  at  saddle-bow,  looked  as  gallant  a  young  gentleman  as 
ever  Bideford  dames  peeped  at  from  door  and  window.  Behind 
him,  upon  country  ponies,  came  four  or  five  stout  serving  men, 
carrying  his  lances  and  baggage,  and  their  own  long-bows,  swords, 
and  bucklers  ;  and  behind  all,  in  a  horse-litter,  to  Mrs.  Leigh's  great 
joy.  Master  Frank  himself.     He  deposed  that  his  wounds  were  only 


r4,0  WESTWARD  HOI 

flesh-wounds,  the  dagger  having  turned  against  his  ribs  ;  that  he 
must  see  the  last  of  his  brother  ;  and  that  with  her  good  leave  hr 
would  not  come  home  to  Burrough,  but  take  up  his  abode  with  Gary 
in  the  Ship  Tavern,  close  to  the  Bridge-foot.  This  he  did  forthwith, 
and  settling  himself  on  a  couch,  held  his  levee  there  in  state,  mobbed 
by  all  the  gossips  of  the  town,  not  without  white  fibs  as  to  who 
had  brought  him  into  that  sorry  plight. 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  he  and  Amyas  concocted  a  scheme, 
which  was  put  into  effect  the  next  day  (being  market-day)  ;  first 
by  the  innkeeper,  who  began  under  Amyas's  orders  a  bustle  of 
roasting,  boiling,  and  frying,  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  the 
Ship  Tavern  ;  and  next  by  Amyas  himself,  who,  going  out  into  the 
market,  invited  as  many  of  his  old  schoolfellows,  one  by  one  apart, 
as  Frank  had  pointed  out  to  him,  to  a  merry  supper,  and  a  "  rowse" 
thereon  consequent ;  by  which  crafty  scheme,  in  came  each  oi 
Rose  Salterne's  gentle  admirers,  and  found  himself,  to  his  con- 
siderable disgust,  seated  at  the  same  table  with  six  rivals,  to  none 
of  whom  had  he  spoken  for  the  last  six  months.  However,  all 
were  too  well  bred  to  let  the  Leighs  discern  as  much  ;  and  they 
(though,  of  course,  they  knew  all)  settled  their  guests,  Frank  on 
his  couch  lying  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  Amyas  taking  the 
bottom :  and  contrived,  by  filling  all  mouths  with  good  things,  to 
save  them  the  pain  of  speaking  to  each  other  till  the  wine  should 
have  loosened  their  tongues  and  warmed  their  hearts.  In  the 
meanwhile  both  Amyas  and  Frank,  ignoring  the  silence  of  their 
guests  with  the  most  provoking  good-humor,  chatted,  and  joked, 
and  told  stories,  and  made  themselves  such  good  company,  that 
Will  Gary,  who  always  found  merriment  infectious,  melted  into 
a  jest,  and  then  into  another,  and  finding  good-humor  far  more 
pleasant  than  bad,  tried  to  make  Mr.  Coffin  laugh,  and  only  made 
him  bow,  and  to  make  Mr.  Fortescue  laugh,  and  only  made  him 
frown  ;  and  unabashed  nevertheless,  began  playing  his  light  artil- 
lery upon  the  waiters,  till  he  drove  them  out  of  the  room  bursting 
with  laughter. 

So  far  so  good.  And  when  the  cloth  was  drawn,  and  sack  and 
sugar  became  the  order  of  the  day,  and  "  Queen  and  Bible"  had 
been  duly  drunk  with  all  the  honors,  Frank  tried  a  fresh  move, 
and — 

"  I  have  a  toast,  gentlemen — here  it  is.  •  The  gentlemen  of  the 
Irish  wars  ;  and  may  Ireland  never  be  without  a  St.  Leger  to 
stand  by  a  Fortescue,  a  Fortescue  to  stand  by  a  St.  Leger,  and  a 
Ghichester  to  stand  by  both.'  " 

Which  toast  of  course  involved  the  drinking  the  healths  of  the 
three  representatives  of  those  families,  and  their  returning  thanks, 
and  paying  a  compliment  each  to  the  other's  house  :  and  so  the 
ice  cracked  a  little  further ;  and  young  Fortescue  proposed  the 
health  of  "  Amyas  Leigh,  and  all  bold  mariners  ;  "  to  which  Amyas 
replied  by  a  few  blunt  kindly  words,  "  that  he  wished  to  know  no 
better  fortune  than  to  sail  round  the  world  again  with  the  present 


WESTWARD  HO  !  14 1 

company  as  fellow-adventurers,  and  so  give  the  Spaniards  another 
taste  of  the  men  of  Devon." 

And  by  this  time,  the  wine  going  down  sweetly,  caused  the  lips 
of  them  that  were  asleep  to  speak  ;  till  the  ice  broke  up  altogether, 
and  every  man  began  talking  like  a  rational  Englishman  to  the 
man  who  sat  next  nim. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,"  said  Frank,  who  saw  that  it  was  the 
fit  moment  for  the  grand  assault  which  he  had  planned  all  along  ; 
"let  me  give  you  a  health  which  none  of  you,  I  dare  say,  will  re- 
fuse to  drink  with  heart  and  soul  as  well  as  with  lips  ; — the  health 
of  one  whom  beauty  and  virtue  have  so  ennobled,  that  in  their 
light  the  shadow  of  lowly  birth  is  unseen  ; — the  health  of  one 
wliom  I  would  proclaim  as  peerless  in  loveliness,  were  it  not  that 
every  gentleman  here  has  sisters,  who  might  well  challenge  from 
her  the  girdle  of  Venus  :  and  yet  what  else  dare  I  say,  while  those 
same  lovely  ladies  who,  if  they  but  use  their  own  mirrors,  must 
needs  be  far  better  judges  of  beauty  than  I  can  be,  have  in  my  own 
hearing  again  and  again  assigned  the  palm  to  her  ?  Surely,  if  the 
goddesses  decide  among  themselves  the  question  of  the  golden 
apple,  Paris  himself  must  vacate  the  judgment-seat.  Gentlemen, 
your  hearts,  I  doubt  not,  have  already  bid  you,  as  my  unworthy 
lips  do  now,  to  drink  '  The  Rose  o^  lorridge.'  " 

If  the  Rose  of  Torridge  herself  had  walked  into  the  room  she 
could  hardly  have  caused  more  blank  astonishment  than  Frank's 
bold  speech.  Every  guest  turned  red,  and  pale,  and  red  again, 
and  looked  at  the  other  as  much  as  to  say,  "  What  right  has  any 
one  but  I  to  drink  her  ?  Lift  your  glass,  and  I  will  dash  it  out 
of  your  hand;"  but  Frank,  with  sweet  effrontery,  drank  "The 
health  of  the  Rose  of  Torridge,  and  a  double  health  to  that  worthy 
gentleman,  whosoever  he  may  be,  whom  she  is  fated  to  honor 
with  her  love  !  " 

"Well  done,  cunning  Frank  Leigh  !  "  cried  blunt  Will  Cary  ^, 
"  none  of  us  dare  quarrel  with  you  now.  however  much  we  may 
sulk  at  each  other.  For  there's  none  of  us,  I'll  warrant,  but  thinks 
that  she  likes  him  the  best  of  all  ;  and  so  we  are  bound  to  believe 
that  you  have  drunk  our  healths  all  round." 

"  And  so  I  have  :  and  what  better  thing  can  you  do,  gentlemen, 
than  to  drink  each  other's  healths  all  round  likewise  :  and  so  show 
yourselves  true  gentlemen,  true  Christians,  ay,  and  true  lovers  ? 
For  what  is  love  (let  me  speak  freely  to  you,  gentlemen  and  guests) 
what  is  love,  but  the  very  inspiration  of  that  Deity  whose  name  is 
Love  .''  Be  sure  that  not  without  reason  did  the  ancients  feign 
Eros  to  be  the  eldest  of  the  gods,  by  vv'hom  the  jarring  elements  of 
chaos  were  attuned  into  harmony  and  order.  How,  then,  shall 
lovers  make  him  the  father  of  strife  ?  Shall  Psyche  wed  with 
Cupid,  to  bring  forth  a  cockatrice's  Qgg  ?  or  the  soul  be  filled  with 
love,  the  likeness  of  the  immortals,  to  burn  with  envy  and  jealousy, 
division  and  distrust  ?  True,  the  rose  has  its  thorn, :  but  it  leaves 
poison  and  stints  to  the  nettles.  Cupid  has  his  arrow  :  but  he 
hurls   no   scorpions.      Venus    is    awful    when    despised,    as    the 


142  WESTWARD  HOt 

daughters  of  Prcetus  found  :  but  her  handmaids  are  the  Graces, 
not  the  Furies.  Surely  he  who  loves  aright  will  not  only  find  lov« 
lovely,  but  become  himself  lovely  also.  1  speak  not  to  reprehend 
you,  gentlemen  ;  for  to  you  (as  your  piercing  wits  have  already 
perceived,  to  judge  by  your  honorable  blushes)  my  discourse  tends  ; 
but  to  point  you,  if  you  will  but  permit  me,  to  that  rock  which  I 
myself  have,  I  know  not  by  what  Divine  good  hap,  attained  ;  if  in- 
deed, I  have  attained  it,  and  am  not  about  to  be  washed  off  again 
by  the  next  tide." 

Frank's  rapid  and  fantastic  oratory,  utterly  unexpected  as  it 
was,  had  as  yet  left  their  wits  no  time  to  set  their  tempers  on  fire  ; 
but  when,  weak  from  his  wounds,  he  paused  for  breath,  there  was 
a  haughty  murmur  from  more  than  one  young  gentleman,  who 
took  his  speech  as  an  impertinent  interference  with  each  man's 
right  to  make  a  fool  of  himself;  and  Mr.  Coffin,  who  had  sat 
quietly  bolt  upright,  and  looking  at  the  opposite  wall,  now  rose 
as  quietly,  and  with  a  face  which  tried  to  look  utterly  unconcerned 
was  walking  out  of  the  room:  another  minute,  and  Lady  Bath's 
prophecy  about  the  feast  of  the  Lapith^  might  have  come  true. 

But  Frank's  heart  and  head  never  failed  him. 

"  Mr.  Coffin  !  "  said  he,  in  a  tone  which  compelled  that  gentle- 
man to  turn  round,  and  so  brought  him  under  the  power  of  a  face 
which  none  could  have  beheld  for  five  minutes  and  borne  malice, 
so  imploring,  tender,  earnest  was  it.  "  My  dear  Mr.  Coffin  !  If 
my  earnestness  has  made  me  forget  even  for  a  moment  the  bounds 
of  courtesy,  let  me  entreat  you  to  forgive  me.  Do  not  add  to  my 
heavy  griefs,  heavy  enough  already,  the  grief  of  losing  a  friend. 
Only  hear  me  patiently  to  the  end  (generously,  I  know,  you  will 
hear  me)  ;  and  then,  if  you  are  still  incensed,  I  can  but  agam 
entreat  your  forgiveness  a  second  time." 

Mr.  Coffin,  to  tell  the  truth,  had  at  that  time  neverbeen  to  Court ; 
and  he  was  therefore  somewhat  jealous  of  Frank,  and  his  Court 
talk,  and  his  Court  clothes,  and  his  Court  company  ;  and  more- 
over, being  the  eldest  of  the  guests,  and  only  two  years  younger 
than  Frank  himself,  be  was  a  little  nettled  at  being  classed  in  the 
same  category  with  some  who  were  scarce  eighteen.  And  if 
Frank  had  given  the  least  hint  v/hich  seemed  to  assume  his  own 
superiority,  all  had  been  lost :  but  when,  instead  thereof,  he  sued 
itt  formd  pauperis,  and  threw  himself  upon  Coffin's  mercy,  the 
latter,  who  was  a  true-hearted  man  enough,  and  after  all  had 
known  Frank  ever  since  either  of  them  could  walk,  had  nothmg 
to  do  but  to  sit  down  again  and  submit,  while  Frank  went  on 
more  earnestly  than  ever. 

"  Believe  me  ;  believe  me,  Mr.  Coffin,  and  gentlemen  all,  I  no 
more  arrogate  to  myself  a  superiority  over  you  than  does  the  sailor 
hurled  on  shore  by  the  sur^e  fancy  himself  better  than  his  com- 
rade who  is  still  battling  with  the  foam.  For  I  too,  gentlemen,— 
let  me  confess  it,  that  by  confiding  in  you  I  may,  perhaps,  win  you 
to  confide  in  me, — have  loved,  ay  and  do  love,  where  you  love 
also.     Do  not  start.     Is  it  a  matter  of  wonder  that  the  sun  which 


WESTWARD  not  1 43 

has  dazzled  you  has  dazzled  me  ;  that  the  loadstone  which  has 
drawn  you  has  drawn  me  ?  Do  not  frown,  either,  gentle- 
men. I  have  learnt  to  love  you  for  loving  what  I  love,  and  to  ad- 
mire you  for  admiring  that  which  I  admire.  Will  you  not  try  the 
same  lesson  :  so  easy,  and,  when  learnt,  so  blissful  .''  What 
breeds  more  close  communion  between  subjects  than  allegiance 
to  the  same  queen  "i  between  brothers,  than  duty  to  the  same 
father  }  between  the  devout,  than  adoration  for  the  same  Deity  ? 
And  shall  not  Avorship  for  the  same  beauty  be  likewise  a  bond  ot 
love  between  the  worshippers  ?  and  each  lover  see  in  his  rival  not 
an  enemy,  but  a  fellow-sufferer  ?  You  smile  and  say  in  your 
hearts,  that  though  all  may  worship,  but  one  can  enjoy  ;  and  that 
one  man's  meat  must  be  the  poison  of  the  rest.  Be  it  so,  though 
I  deny  it.  Shall  we  anticipate  our  own  doom,  and  slay  ourselves 
for  fear  of  dying  }  Shall  we  make  ourselves  unworthy  of  her  from 
our  very  eagerness  to  win  her,  and  show  ourselves  her  faithful 
knights,  by  cherishing  envy, — most  unknightly  of  all  sins  1  Shall 
we  dream  with  the  Italian  or  the  Spaniard  that  we  can  become 
more  amiable  in  a  lady's  eyes,  by  becoming  hateful  in  the  eyes  of 
God  and  of  each  other  ?  Will  she  love  us  the  better,  if  we  come 
to  her  with  hands  stained  in  the  blood  of  him  whom  she  loves 
better  than  us  ?  Let  us  recollect  ourselves  rather,  gentlemen  ; 
and  be  sure  that  our  only  chance  of  winning  her,  if  she  be  worth 
winning,  is  to  will  what  she  wills,  honor  whom  she  honors,  love 
whom  she  loves.  If  there  is  to  be  rivalry  among  us,  let  it  be  a  riv- 
alry in  nobleness,  an  emulation  in  virtue.  Let  each  try  to  outstrip 
the  other  in  loyalty  to  his  queen,  in  valor  against  her  foes,  in  deeds 
of  courtesy  and  mercy  to  the  afflicted  and  oppressed  ;  and  thus 
our  love  will  indeed  prove  its  own  divine  origin,  by  raising  us 
nearer  to  those  gods  whose  gift  it  is.  But  yet  I  show  you  a  more 
excellent  way,  and  that  is  charity.  Why  should  we  not  make  this 
common  love  to  her,  whom  I  am  unworthy  to  name,  the  sacra- 
ment of  a  common  love  to  each  other  ?  Why  should  we  not  fol- 
low the  heroical  examples  of  those  ancient  knights,  who  having 
but  one  grief,  one  desire,  one  goddess,  held  that  one  heart  was 
enough  to  contain  that  grief,  to  nourish  that  desire^  to  worship 
that  divinity  ;  and  so  uniting  themselves  in  friendship  till  they  be- 
came but  one  soul  in  two  bodies,  lived  only  for  each  other  in  living 
only  for  her,  vowing  as  faithful  worshippers  to  abide  by  her  de- 
cision, to  find  their  own  bliss  in  hers,  and  whomsoever  she  esteem* 
ed  most  worthy  of  her  love,  to  esteem  most  worthy  also,  and  count 
themselves,  by  that  her  choice,  the  bounden  servants  of  him  whom' 
their  mistress  had  condescended  to  advance  to  the  dignity  of  her 
master  ? — as  I  (not  without  hope  that  I  shall  be  outdone  in  gen- 
erous strife)  do  here  promise  to  be  the  faithful  friend,  and,  to  my 
ability,  the  hearty  servant,  of  him  who  shall  be  honored  with  the 
love  of  the  Rose  of  Torridge." 

He  ceased,  and  there  was  a  pause. 

At  last  young  Fortescue  spoke. 

"  I  may  be  paying  you  a  left-handed  compliment,  sir  :  but  it 


144  WESTWAI^D  HOI 

seems  to  me  that  you  are  so  likely,  in  that  case,  to  become  your 
own  faithful  friend  and  hearty  servant  (even  if  you  have  not  borne 
off  the  bell  already  while  we  have  been  asleep),  that  the  bargain  is 
hardly  fair  between  such  a  gay  Itaiianist  and  us  country  swains." 

"  You  undervalue  yourself  and  your  country,  my  dear  sir.  But 
set  your  mind  at  rest.  I  know  no  more  of  that  lady's  mind  than 
you  do  :  nor  shall  I  know.  For  the  sake  of  my  own  peace,  I  have 
made  a  vow  neither  to  see  her,  nor  to  hear,  if  possible,  tidings  of 
her,  till  three  full  years  are  past.     Dixi  1  " 

Mr.  Coffin  rose. 

"  Gentlemen,  I  may  submit  to  be  outdone  by  Mr.  Leigh  in  elo- 
quence, but  not  in  generosity  ;  if  he  leaves  these  parts  for  three 
years,  I  do  so  also." 

"  And  go  in  charity  with  all  mankind,"  said  Cary.  "Give  us 
your  hand,  old  fellow.  If  you  are  a  Coffin,  you  were  sawn  out  of 
no  wishy-washy  elm-board,  but  right  heart-of-oak.  I  am  going, 
too,  as  Amyas  here  can  tell,  to  Ireland  away,  to  cool  my  hot  liver 
in  a  bog,  like  a  Jack-hare  in  March.  Come,  give  us  thy  neif,  and 
let  us  part  in  peace.  I  was  minded  to  have  fought  thee  this 
day " 

"  I  should  have  been  most  happy,  sir,"  said  Coffin. 

— "  But  now  I  am  all  love  and  charity  to  mankind.  Can  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  begging  pardon  of  the  world  in  general,  and  thee 
in  particular  ?  Does  any  one  wish  to  pull  my  nose  ;  send  me  an 
errand  ;  make  me  lend  him  five  pounds  ;  ay,  make  me  buy  a  horse 
of  him,  which  will  be  as  good  as  giving  him  ten  ?  Come  along  ! 
Join  hands  all  round,  and  swear  eternal  friendship,  as  brothers  of 
the  sacred  order  of  the — of  what  ?  Frank  Leigh  ?  Open  thy 
mouth,  Daniel,  and  christen  us  !  *' 

"  The  Rose  !  "  said  Frank  quietly,  seeing  that  his  new  love- 
philtre  was  working  well,  and  determined  to  strike  while  the  iron 
was  hot,  and  carry  the  matter  too  far  to  carry  it  back  again. 

"  The  Rose  !  "  cried  Cary,  catching  hold  of  Coffin's  hand  with 
his  right,  and  Fortescue's  with  his  left.  "  Come,  Mr.  Coffin  ! 
Bend,  sturdy  oak  !  •  Woe  to  the  stiffnecked  and  stouthearted  !  ' 
says  Scripture." 

And  somehow  or  other,  whether  it  was  Frank's  chivalrous 
speech,  or  Gary's  fun,  or  Am.yas's  good  wine,  or  the  nobleness 
which  lies  in  every  young  lad's  heart,  if  their  elders  will  take  the 
trouble  to  call  it  out,  the  vv'hole  party  came  in  to  terms  one  by  one, 
shook  hands  all  round,  and  vowed  on  the  hilt  of  Amyas's  sword  to 
make  fools  of  themselves  no  more,  at  least  by  jealousy  :  but  to 
stand  by  each  other  and  by  their  lady-love,  and  neither  grudge  nor 
grumble,  let  her  dance  with,  flirt  with,  or  marry  with  whom  she 
would;  and  in  order  that  the  honor  of  their  peerless  dame,  and  the 
brotherhood  w^hich  was  named  after  her,  might  be  spread  through 
all  lands,  and  equal  that  of  Angelica  or  Isonde  of  Brittany,  they 
would  each  go  home,  and  ask  their  fathers*  leave  (easy  enough  to 
obtain  in  those  brave  times)  to  go  abroad  wheresoever  there  w^ere 
"  good  wars,"' to  emulate  there  the  courage  and  the  courtesy  of 


IVESTWAJ^D  HO!  145 

Walter  Manay  and  Gonzalo  Fernandes,  Bayard  and  Gaston  dc 
Foix.  Why  not  ?  Sidney  was  the  hero  of  Europe  at  five-and- 
twenty  ;  and  why  not  they  ? 

And  Frank  watched  and  listened  with  one  of  his  quiet  smiles 
(his  eyes,  as  some  folks  do,  smiled  even  when  his  lips  were  still) 
and  only  said  :  "  Gentlemen,  be  sure  that  you  will  never  repent 
this  day." 

'•  Repent  ?  "  said  Gary.  "  I  feel  already  as  angelical  as  thou 
lookest,    Saint   Silvertongue.     What  was   it  that   sneezed  ?— the 


cat 


The  lion,  rather,  by  the  roar  of  it,"  said  Amyas,  making  a 
dash  at  the  arras  behind  him.  "  Why,  here  is  a  doorway  here  ! 
and " 

And  rushing  under  the  arras,  through  an  open  door  behind  he 
returned,  dragging  out  by  the  head  Mr.  John  Brimblecombe. 

Who  was  Mr.  John  Brimblecombe  ? 

If  you  have  forgotten  him,  you  have  done  pretty  nearly  what 
every  one  else  in  the  room  had  done.  But  you  recollect  a  certain 
fat  lad,  son  of  the  schoolmaster,  whom  Sir  Richard  punished  for 
tale-bearing  three  years  before,  by  sending  him  not  to  Coventry, 
but  to  Oxford.  That  was  the  man.  He  was  now  one-and-twenty, 
and  a  bachelor  of  Oxford,  where  he  had  learnt  such  things  as  were 
taught  in  those  days,  with  more  or  less  success  ;  and  he  was  now 
hanging  about  Bideford  once  more,  intending  to  return  after 
Christmas  and  read  divinity,  that  he  might  become  a  parson,  and 
a  shepherd  of  souls  in  his  native  land. 

Jack  was  in  person  exceedingly  like  a  pig :  but  not  like  every 
pig  :  not  in  the  least  like  the  Devon  pigs  of  those  days,  which,  I 
am  sorry  to  say,  were  no  more  shapely  than  the  true  Irish  gray- 
hound  who  pays  Pat's  "  rint "  for  him  ;  or  than  the  lanky  monsters 
who  wallow  in  German  rivulets,  while  the  village  swineherd, 
beneath  a  shady  lime,  forgets  his  fleas  in  the  melody  of  a  Jew's 
harp— strange  mud-colored  creatures,  four  feet  high  and  four 
inches  thick,  which  look  as  if  they  had  passed  their  lives,  as  a 
collar  of  Oxford  brawn  is  said  to  do,  between  two  tight  boards. 
Such  were  then  the  pigs  of  Devon  :  not  to  be  compared  with  the 
true  wild  descendant  of  Noah's  stock,  high-withered,  furry,  griz- 
zled, game-flavored  little  rooklers,  whereof  many  a  sownder  still 
grunted  about  Swinley  down  and  Braunton  woods,  Clovelly  glens 
and  Bursdon  moor.  Not  like  these,  nor  like  the  tame  abomination 
of  those  barbarous  times,  was  Jack  :  but  prophetic  in  face,  figure, 
and  complexion,  of  Fisher  Hobbs  and  the  triumphs  of  science.  A 
Fisher  Hobbs'  pig  of  twelve  stone,  on  his  hind-legs — that  was 
what  he  was,  and  nothing  else  ;  and  if  you  do  not  know,  reader, 
what  a  Fisher  Hobbs  is,  you  know  nothing  about  pigs,  and  de- 
serve no  bacon  for  breakfast.  But  such  was  Jack.  The  same  plump 
mulberry  complexion,  garnished  with  a  few  scattered  black  bristles  ; 
the  same  sleek  skin,  looking  always  as  if  it  was  upon  the  point  ot 
bursting  ;  the  same  little  toddling  legs  ;  the  same  dapper  bend  in 
the  small  of  the  back  ;  the  same  cracked  squeak  ;  the  same  low 


I4<J  WESTlVARD'HOt 

upright  forehead,  and  tiny  eyes  ;  the  same  round  self-satisfied  jowl ; 
the  same  charming  sensitive  little  cocked  nose,  always  on  the 
look-out  for  a  savory  smell, — and  yet  while  watching  for  the  best, 
contented  with  the  worst  ;  a  pig  of  self-helpful  and  serene  spirit, 
as  Jack  was,  and  therefore,  like  him,  fatting  fast  while  other  pigs' 
ribs  are  staring  through  their  skins. 

Such  was  Jack  ;  and  lucky  it  was  for  him  that  such  he  was  ;  for 
it  was  little  that  he  got  to  fat  him  at  Oxford,  in  days  when  a  servi^ 
tor  meant  really  a  servant-student  ;  and  wistfully  that  day  did  his 
eyes,  led  by  his  nose,  survey  at  the  end  of  the  Ship  Inn  passage  the 
preparations  for  Amyas's  supper.     The  innkeeper  was  a  friend  of 
his  ;  for,  in  the  first  place,  they  had  lived  within  three  doors  of 
each  other  all  their  lives  ;  and  next,  Jack  was  quite  pleasant  com- 
pany enough,  beside  being  a  learned  man  and  an  Oxford  scholar, 
to  be  asked  in  now  and  then  to  the  innkeeper's  private  parlor, 
when  there  was  no  gentlemen  there,  to  crack  his  little  joke  and  tell 
his  little  story,  sip  the  leavings  of  the  guests'  sack,  and  sometimes 
help  the  hosts  to  eat  the  leavings  of  their  supper.     And  it  was,  per- 
haps, with  some  such  hope  that  Jack  trotted   off  round  the  corner 
/o  the  Ship  that  very  afternoon  ;  for  that  faithful  little  nose  of  his, 
as  it  sniffed  out  of  a  back  window  of  the  school,  had  given  him 
w^arning  of  Sabean  gales,  and  scents  of  Paradise,  from   the  inn 
kitchen  below  ;  so  he  went  round,  and  asked  for  his  pot  of  small 
ale  (his  only  luxury),  and  stood  at  the  bar  to  drink  it  ;  and  looked 
inward  with  his  little  twinkling  right  eye  and  sniffed  inward  with 
his  little  curling  right  nostril,  and  beheld,  in  the  kitchen  beyond, 
salad  in  stacks  and  faggots :  salad  of  lettuce,  salad  of  cress  and 
endive,  salad  of  boiled  coleworts,  salad  of  pickled  coleworts,  salad 
of  angelica,    salad  of  scurvy-wort,   and  seven  salads  more  ;  for 
potatoes  were  not  as  yet,  and  salads  were  during  eight  months  of 
the  year  the  only  vegetable.     And  on  the  dresser,  and  before  the 
fire,  whole  hecatombs  of  fragrant  victims,  which  needed  neither 
frankincense  nor  mvrrh  ;  Clovelly  herrings  and  Torridge  salmon, 
Exmoor  mutton  and  Stow  venison,  stubble  geese  and  woodcocks, 
curlew  and  snipe,  hams  of  Hampshire,  chitterlings  of  Taunton, 
and  botargos  of  Cadiz,  such  as  Pantagrue  himself  might  have  de- 
voured.    And  Jack  eyed  them,  as  a  ragged  boy  eyes  the  cakes  in 
a  pastrycook's  window  ;  and  thought  of  the  scraps  from  the  com- 
moner's dinner,  which  were  his  wages  for  cleaning  out  the  hall  ; 
and  meditated  deeply  on  the  unequal  distribution  of  human  bliss. 
"  Ah,   Mr.  Brimblecombe  !  "  said  the   host,   bustling   out   with 
knife   and  apron    to   cool   himself  in  ^  the   passage.     "Here   are 
doings  !     Nine  gentlemen  to  supper  !  " 
"  Nine  !  Are  they  going  to  eat  all  that  ?  " 

"Well,  I  can't  say— that  Mr.  Amyas  is  as  good  as  three  to  his 
trencher  :  but  still  there's  crumbs,  Mr.  Brimblecombe,  crumbs  ; 
and  Waste  not  want  not  is  my  doctrine  ;  so  you  and  I  may  have  a 
somewhat  to  stay  our  stomachs,  about  an  eight  o'clock." 

"  Eight  ?  "  said  Jack,  looking  wistfully  at  the  clock.  "Its  but 
four  now.     Well,  it's  kind  of  you,  and  perhaps  I'll  look  in." 


WESTWARD  HO!  147 

*'  Just  you  step  in  now,  and  look  to  this  venison.  There's  a  breast ! 
you  may  lay  your  two  fingers  into  the  say  there,  and  not  get  to 
the  bottom  of  the  fat.  That's  Sir  Richard's  sending.  He's  all  fof 
them  Leighs,  and  no  wonder,  they'm  brave  lads,  surely  ;  and 
there's  a  saddle-o-mutton  !  I  rode  twenty  miles  for  mun  yester- 
day, I  did,  over  beyond  Barnstaple  ;  and  five  year  old,  Mr.  John, 
it  is,  if  ever  five  years  was  ;  and  not  a  tooth  to  mun's  head,  for  I 
looked  to  that  ;  and  smelt  all  the  way  home  like  any  apple  ;  and  if 
it  don't  ate  so  soft  as  ever  was  scald  cream,  never  you  call  me 
Thomas  Burman." 

"  Humph  !  "  said  Jack.  "  And  that's  their  dinner.  Well,  some 
are  born  with  a  silver  spoon  in  their  mouth." 

"Some  be  born  with  roast  beef  in  their  mouths,  and  plum-pud- 
ding in  their  pocket  to  take  away  the  taste  o'  mun  ;  and  that's 
better  than  empty  spunes,  eh  ?  " 

•*  For  them  that  get  it,"  said  Jack.  "  But  for  them  that 
don't " 

And  with  a  sigh  he  returned  to  his  small  ale,  and  then  Imgered  in 
and  out  of  the  inn,  watching  the  dinner  as  it  went  into  the  best 
room  where  the  guests  were  assembled. 

And  as  he  lounged  there,  Amyas  went  in,  and  saw  him,  and 
held  out  his  hand,  and  said — 

"  Hillo,  Jack  1  how  goes  the  world  ?  How  you've  gro\vn  !  "  and 
passed  on  ; — what  had  Jack  Brimblecombe  to  do  with  Rose 
Salterne  ? 

So  Jack  lingered  on,  hovering  round  the  fragrant  smell  like  a 
fly  round  a  honey-pot,  till  he  found  himself  invisibly  attracted, 
and  as  it  were  led  by  the  nose  out  of  the  passage  into  the  adjoin- 
ing room,  and  to  that  side  of  the  room  where  there  was  a  door  ; 
and  once  there  he  could  not  help  hearing  what  passed  inside  ;  till 
Rose  Salterne's  name  fell  on  his  ear.  So,  as  it  was  ordained,  he 
was  taken  in  the  fact.  And  now  behold  him  brought  in  red-hand 
to  judgment,  not  without  a  kick  or  two  from  the  wrathful  foot  of 
Amyas  Leigh.  Whereat  there  fell  on  him  a  storm  of  abuse,  which, 
for  the  honor  of  that  gallant  company,  I  shall  not  give  in  detail ;  JDUt 
which  abuse,  strange  to  say,  seemed  to  have  no  effect  on  the  irn- 
penitent  and  unabashed  Jack,  who,  as  soon  as  he  could  get  his 
breath,  made  answer  fiercely,  am.id  much  puffing  and  blowing. 

"  What  business  have  I  here  ?  As  much  as  any  of  you.  If-you 
had  asked  me  in,  I  would  have  come :  but  as  you  didn't,  I  cam^. 
without  asking." 

"  You  shameless  rascal  !  "  said  Gary.  "  Come  if  you  were  asked, 
.where  there  was  good  wine  ?     I'll  warrant  you  for  that !  " 

"Why,"  said  Amyas,  "no  lad  ever  had  a  cake  at  school  but  he 
would  dog  him  up  one  street  and  down  another  all  day  for  the 
crumbs,  the  trencher-scraping  spaniel  \  " 

"  Patience,  masters  !  "  said  Frank.  "  That  Jack's  is  somewhat 
of  a  gnathonic  and  parasitic  soul,  or  stomach,  all  Bideford  apple- 
women  know  ;  but  I  suspect  more  than  Deus  Venter  has.  brought 
him  hither." 


148  WESTWARD  HO  / 

"  Deus  eavesdropping,  then.  We  shall  have  the  whole  stor^ 
over  the  town  by  to-morrow,"  said  another  ;  beginning  at  that 
thought  to  feel  somewhat  ashamed  of  his  late  enthusiasm. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Frank  !  You  were  always  the  only  one  that  would 
stand  up  for  me  !  Deus  Venter,  quotha  ?  'Twas  Deus  Cupid, 
it  was  !  " 

A  roar  of  laughter  followed  this  announcement. 

"  What  ?  "  asked  Frank  ;  "  was  it  Cupid,  then,  who  sneezed  ap- 
proval to  our  love,  Jack,  as  he  did  to  that  of  Dido  and  ^neas  ?  " 

But  Jack  went  on  desperately, 

"  I  was  in  the  next  room,  drinking  of  my  beer.  I  couldn't  help 
that,  could  I  1  And  then  I  heard  her  name  ;  and  I  couldn't  help 
listening  then.     Flesh  and  blood  couldn't." 

"  Nor  fat  either  !  " 

"  No,  nor  fat,  Mr.  Cary.  Do  you  suppose  fat  men  haven't  souls 
to  be  saved  as  well  as  thin  ones,  and  hearts  to  burst,  too,  as  well 
as  stomachs  ?  Fat !  Fat  can  feel,  I  reckon,  as  well  as  lean.  Do 
you  suppose  there's  nought  inside  here  but  beer  !  " 

And  he  laid  his  hand,  as  Drayton  might  have  said,  on  that  stout 
bastion,  hornwork,  ravelin,  or  demilune,  which  formed  the  out- 
works of  the  citadel  of  his  purple  isle  of  man. 

"  Nought  but  beer  ? — Cheese,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Bread  ?  " 

"Beef?" 

"  Love  !  "  cried  Jack.  "  Yes,  Love  ! — Ay,  you  laugh  :  but  my 
eyes  are  not  so  grown  up  with  fat  but  what  I  can  see  what's  fair  as 
well  as  you." 

"Oh,  Jack,  naughty  Jack,  dost  thou  heap  sin  on  sin,  and  luxury 
on  gluttony  ?  " 

"Sin  ?  If  I  sin,  you  sin  :  Ltell  you,  and  I  don't  care  who  knows 
it,  I've  loved  her  these  three  years  as  well  as  e'er  a  one  of  you,  I 
have.  I've  thought  o'  nothing  else,  prayed  for  nothing  else,  God 
forgive  me  !  And  then  you  laugh  at  me,  bcause  I'm  a  poor  par- 
son's son,  and  you  fine  gentlemen  :  God  made  us  both,  I  reckon. 
You  ? — you  make  a  deal  of  giving  her  up  to-day.  Why,  it's  what 
I've  done  for  three  miserable  years  as  ever  poor  sinner  spent  ;  ay, 
from  the  first  day  I  said  to  myself,  'Jack,  if  you  can't  have  that 
pearl,  you'll  have  none  ;  and  that  you  can  t  have,  for  it's  meat  for 
your  masters  :  so  conquer  or  die.'  And  I  couldn't  conquer.  I 
can't  help  loving  her,  worshipping  her,  no  more  than  you  ;  and  I 
will  die  but  you  needn't  laugh  meanwhile  at  me  that  have  done 
as  much  as  you,  and  will  do  again." 

"  It  is  the  old  tale,"  said  Frank  to  himself;  "whom  will  not 
love  transform  into  a  hero  ?  " 

And  so  it  was.  Jack's  squeaking  voice  was  firm  and  manly,  his 
pig's  eyes  flashed  very  fire,  his  gestures  were  so  free  and  earnest, 
that  the  ungainliness  of  his  figure  was  forgotten  ;  and  when  he 
finished  with  a  violent  burst  of  tears,  Frank,  forgetting  his  wounds, 
sprang  up  and  caught  him  by  the  hand. 

"  John  Brimblecombe,  forgive  me  !     Gentlemen,  if  we  are  gem 


WESTWARD  HOf  149 

tlemen,  we  ought  to  ask  his  pardon.  Has  he  not  shown  already 
more  chivalry,  more  self-denial,  and  therefore  more  true  love, 
than  any  of  us  ?  My  friends,  let  the  fierceness  of  affection,  which 
we  have  used  as  an  excuse  for  many  a  sin  ot  our  own,  excuse  nis 
listening  to  a  conversation  in  which  he  well  deserved  to  bear  a 
part." 

"  Ah,"  said  Jack,  "you  make  me  one  of  your  brotherhood  ;  and 
see  if  I  do  not  dare  to  suffer  as  much  as  any  of  you  !  You  laugh  ? 
Do  you  fancy  none  can  use  a  sword  unless  he  has  a  baker's  dozen 
of  quarterings  in  his  arms,  or  that  Oxford  scholars  know  only  how 
to  handle  a  pen  ?  " 

"  Let  us  try  his  metal,"  said  St.  Leger.  "  Here's  my  sword. 
Jack  ;  draw,  Coffin  !  and  have  at  him." 

"  Nonsense  !  "  said  Coffin,  looking  somewhat  disgusted  at  the 
notion  of  fighting  a  man  of  Jack's  rank  ;  but  Jack  caught  at  the 
weapon  offered  to  him. 

"  Give  me  a  buckler,  and  have  at  any  of  you  !  " 

"  Here's  a  chair  bottom,"  cried  Cary  ;  and  Jack,  seizing  it  in  his 
left,  flourished  his  sword  so  fiercely,  and  called  so  loudly  to  Coffin 
to  come  on,  that  all  present  found  it  necessary,  unless  they  wished 
blood  to  be  spilt,  to  turn  the  matter  off  with  a  laugh :  but  Jack 
would  not  hear  of  it. 

"  Nay  :  if  you  will  let  me  be  of  your  brotherhood,  well  and  good  : 
but  if  not,  one  or  other  I  will  fight :  and  that's  flat." 

"  You  see,  gentlemen,"  said  Amyas,  "  we  must  admit  him  or 
die  the  death  ;  so  we  needs  must  go  when  Sir  Urian  drives.  Come 
up.  Jack,  and  take  the  oaths.     You  admit  him,  gentlemen  ?" 

"  Let  me  but  be  your  chaplain,"  said  Jack,  "  and  pray  for  your 
luck  when  you're  at  the  wars.  If  I  do  stay  at  home  in  a  country 
curacy,  'tis  not  much  that  you  need  be  jealous  of  me  with  her,  I 
reckon,"  said  Jack,  with  a  pathetical  glance  at  his  own  stomach. 

"  Sia  !  "  said  Cary  :  "  but  if  he  be  admitted,  it  must  be  done  ac- 
cording to  the  solemn  forms  and  ceremonies  in  such  cases  pro- 
vided. Take  him  into  the  next  room,  Amyas,  and  prepare  him  for 
his  initiation." 

"  What's  that  ?  "  asked  Amyas,  puzzled  by  the  word.  But  judg- 
ing from  the  corner  of  Will's  eye  that  initiation  was  Latin  for  a 
practical  joke,  he  led  forth  his  victim  behind  the  arras  again,  and 
waited  five  minutes  while  the  room  was  being  darkened,  till  Frank's 
voice  called  to  him  to  bring  in  the  neophyte. 

"John  Brimblecombe,"  said  Frank  in  a  sepulchral  tone,  "you 
cannot  be  ignorant,  as  a  scholar  and  bachelor  of  Oxford,  of  that 
dread  Sacrament  by  which  Cataline  bound  the  soul  of  his  fellow- 
conspirators;  in  order  that  both  by  the  daring  of  the  deed  he  might 
have  proof  of  their  sincerity,  and  by  the  horror  thereof  astringe 
their  souls  by  adamantine  fetters,  and  Novem-Stygian  oaths,  to 
that  wherefrom  hereafter  the  weakness  of  the  flesh  might  shrink. 
Wherefore,  O  Jack  !  we  too  have  determined,  following  that  an- 
cient and  classical  example,  to  fill,  as  he  did,  a  bowl  with  the  life- 
blood  of  our  most  heroic  selves,  and  to  pledge  each  other  therein. 


?50 


IVESTIVARI)  HOI 


with  vows  whereat  the  -stars  shall  tremble  in.  their  spheres,  and 
Luna,  blushing,  veil  her  silver  cheeks.  Your  blood  alone  ii 
wanted  to  fill  up  the  goblet.  Sit  down,  John  Brimblecombe,  and 
bare  your  arm  !  " 

"  But,  Mr.  Frank  ! "  said  Jack  ;  who  was  as  superstitious  as 

any  old  wife,  and  what  with  the  darkness  and  the  discourse,  al- 
ready in  a  cold  perspiration. 

"  But  me  no  buts  !  or  depart  as  recreant,  not  by  the  door  like  s, 
man,  but  up  the  chimney  like  a  flittermouse." 

"But,  Mr.  Frank  !" 

"  Thy  vital  juice,  or  the  chimney  !  Choose  !  "  roared  Gary  ia 
bis  ear, 

"  Well,  if  I  must,"  said  Jack  ;  "but  it's  desperate  hard  that  be- 
cause you  can't  keep  faith  without  these  barbarous  oaths,  I  must 
take  them  too,  that  have  kept  faith  these  three  years  without 
any." 

At  this  pathetic  appeal  Frank  nearly  melted  :  but  Amyas  and 
Gary  had  thrust  the  victim  into  a  chair  and  all  was  prepared  for 
the  sacrifice. 

"Bind  his  eyes,  according  to  the  classic  fashion,"  said  Will. 

"  Oh  no,  dear  Mr.  Gary  ;  I'll  shut  them  tight  enough,  I  warrant : 
but  not  with  your  dagger,  dear  Mr.  William — sure,  not  with  your 
dagger  ?  I  can't  afford  to  lose  blood,  though  I  do  look  lusty — I 
can't  indeed;  sure,  a  pin  would  do — I've  got  one  here,  to  my 
sleeve,  somewhere — Oh  !  " 

"  See  the  fount  of  generous  juice  !  Flow  on,  fair  stream.  How 
he  bleeds  1— pints,  quarts  !  Ah,  this  proves  him  to  be  in  earn^ 
est !  " 

"  A  true  lover's  blood  is  always  at  his  fingers'  ends." 

"  He  does  not  grudge  it  ;  of  course  not.  Eh,  Jack  ?  What 
matters  an  odd  gallon  for  her  sake  ?  " 

"  For  her  sake  ?  Nothing,  nothing  !  Take  my  life,  if  you  will : 
but — oh,  gentlemen,  a  surgeon,  if  you  love  me  !  I'm  going  off— 
I'm  fainting  !  " 

"  Drink,  then,  quick  ;  drink  and  swear  !  Pat  his  back,  Gary. 
Go"urage,  man  !  it  will  be  over  in  a  minute.     Now,  Frank  \ " 

And  P>ank  spoke — 

**  If  plighted  troth  I  fail,  or  secret  speech  reveal, 
May  Cocytean  ghosts  around  my  pillow  squeal ; 
While  Ate's  brazen  claws  distringe  my  spleen  in  sunder. 
And  drag  me  deep  to  Pluto's  keep,  'raid  brimstone,  smoke,  and  thunderl  ** 

"  Placetne,  domine  ?  " 

"  Placet !  "  squeaked  Jack,  who  thought  himself  at  the  last 
gasp,  and  gulped  down  full  three-quarters  of  the  goblet  which 
Gary  held  to  his  lips. 

"Ugh — Ah — Puh  !     Mercy  on  us  !     It  tastes  mighty  like  wine  !  " 

"A  proof,  my  virtuous  brother,"  said  Frank,  "first,  of  thy 
abstemiousness,  which  has  thus  forgotten  what  wine  tastes  like  ; 
?^nd  next,  of  thy  pure  and  heroical  affection,  by  which  thy  carnal 


WMSTWARD  HO  I  151 

senses  being  exalted  to  a  higher  and  supra-lunar  sphere,  like  those 
Platonical  da^monizomenoi  and  enthusiazomenoi  (of  whom  Jam- 
blichus  says  that  they  were  insensible  to  wounds  and  flame,  and 
much  more,  therefore,  to  evil  savors),  doth  make  even  the  most 
nauseous  draught  redolent  of  that  celestial  fragrance,  which  pro- 
ceeding, O  Jack  !  from  thine  own  inward  virtue,  assimilates  by 
sympathy  even  outward  accidents  unto  its  own  harmony  and 
melody;  for  fragrance  is,  as  has  been  said  well,  the  song  of  flowers, 
and  sweetness,  the  music  of  apples — Ahem  I  Go  in  peace,  thou 
hast  conquered  ! " 

"  Put  him  out  of  the  door,  Will,"  said  Amyas,  "  or  he  will 
swoon  on  our  hands." 

"Give  him  some  sack,"  said  Frank. 

"  Not  a  blessed  drop  of  yours,  sir,"  said  Jack.  "  I  like  good 
wine  as  well  as  any  man  on  earth,  and  see  as  little  of  it ;  but  not 
a  drop  of  yours,  sirs,  after  your  frumps  and  flouts  about  hangin^- 
on  and  trencher-scraping.  When  I  first  began  to  love  her,  1  bid 
ood-bye  to  all  dirty  tricks  ;  for  I  had  some  one  then  for  whom  to 
eep  myself  clean." 

And  so  Jack  was  sent  home,  with  a  pint  of  good  red  Alicant 
wine  in  him  (more,  poor  fellow,  than  he  had  tasted  at  once  in 
his  life  before)  ;  while  the  rest,  in  high  glee  with  themselves  and 
the  rest  of  the  world,  relighted  the  candles,  had  a  right  merry 
evening,  and  parted  like  good  friends  and  sensible  gentlemen  of 
Devon,  thinking  (all  except  Frank)  Jack  Brimblecombe  and  his 
vow  the  merriest  jest  they  had  heard  for  many  a  day.  After 
which  they  all  departed  :  Amyas  and  Gary  to  Winter's  squadron  ; 
Frank  (as  soon  as  he  could  travel)  to  the  Court  again  ;  and  with 
him  young  Basset,  whose  father  Sir  Arthur,  being  in  London, 
procured  for  him  a  page's  place  in  Leicester's  housenold.  Fortes- 
cue  and  Chichester  went  to  their  brothers  in  Dublin  ;  St.  Leger 
to  his  uncle  the  Marshal  of  Munster  ;  Coffin  joined  Champernoun 
and  Norris  in  the  Netherlands;  and  so  the  Brotherhood  of  the 
Rose  was  scattered  far  and  wide,  and  Mistress  Salternc  was  left 
alone  with  her  looking-glass. 


k< 


153  WESTWARD  Hot 


CHAPTER  IX. 
COW  AMYAS  KEPT  HIS  CHRISTMAS  DAY. 

*'  Take  aim,  you  noble  musqueteera, 
And  shoot  yon  round  about ; 
S*and  to  it,  valiant  pikemen, 
And  we  shall  keep  them  ouL 
There's  not  a  man  of  all  of  us 
A  foot  will  backward  flee; 
I'll  be  the  foremost  man  in  fight, 
Says  brave  Lord  Willoughby !  " 

Elizabethan  Ballad. 

It  was  the  blessed  Christmas  afternoon.  The  light  was  fading 
down  ;  the  even-song  was  done  ;  and  the  good  folks  of  Bideford 
were  trooping  home  in  merry  groups,  the  father  with  his  children, 
the  lover  with  his  sweetheart,  to  cakes  and  ale,  and  flapdragons 
and  mummer's  plays,  and  all  the  happy  sports  of  Christmas  night. 
One  lady  only,  wrapped  close  in  her  black  muffler  and  followed 
by  her  maid,  walked  swiftly,  yet  sadly,  toward  the  long  causeway 
and  bridge  which  led  to  Northam  town.  Sir  Richard  Grenvile 
and  his  wife  caught  her  up  and  stopped  her  courteously. 

"  You  will  come  home  with  us,  Mrs.  Leigh,"  said  Lady  Gren- 
vile, "  and  spend  a  pleasant  Christmas  night  "i  " 

Mrs.  Leigh  smiled  sweetly,  and  laying  one  hand  on  Lady 
Grenvile 's  arm,  pointed  with  the  other  to  the  westward,  and 
said — 

"  I  cannot  well  spend  a  merry  Christmas  night  while  that  sound 
is  in  my  ears." 

The  whole  party  around  looked  in  the  direction  in  which  she 
pointed.  Above  their  heads  the  soft  blue  sky  was  fading  into 
gray,  and  here  and  there  a  misty  star  peeped  out  :  but  to  the  west- 
ward, where  the  downs  and  woods  of  Raleigh  closed  in  with  those 
of  Abbotsham,  the  blue  was  webbed  and  turfed  with  delicate 
white  flakes  ;  iridescent  spots,  marking  the  path  by  which  the  sun 
had  sunk,  showed  all  the  colors  of  the  dying  dolphin  ;  and  low  on 
the  horizon  lay  a  long  band  of  grassy  green.  But  what  was  the 
sound  which  troubled  Mrs.  Leigh  !  None  of  them,  with  their 
merry  hearts  and  ears  dulled  with  the  din  and  bustle  of  the  town, 
had  heard  it  till  that  moment  :  and  yet  now — listen  !  It  was 
dead  calm.  There  was  not  a  breath  to  stir  a  blade  of  grass.  And 
yet  the  air  was  full  of  sound,  a  low  deep  roar  which  hovered  over 
down  and  wood,  salt-marsh  and  river,  like  the  roll  of  a  thousand 
wheels,  the  tramp  of  endless  armies,  or — what  it  was — the  thunder 
of  a  mighty  sur^e  upon  the  boulders  of  the  pebble  ridge. 

"The  ridge  is  noisy  to-night,"  said  Sir  Richard.  "There  has 
been  wind  somewhere  " 


WESTlVA/^n  HO!  1 53 

'♦  There  is  wind  now,  where  my  bov  is,  God  help  him  ! "  said 
Mrs.  Leigh  :  and  all  knew  that  she  spoke  truly.  The  spirit  of  the 
Atlantic  storm  had  sent  forward  the  token  of  his  coming,  in  the 
smooth  ground-swell  which  was  heard  inland,  two  miles  away. 
To-morrow  the  pebbles,  which  were  now  rattling  down  with  each 
retreating  wave,  might  be  leaping  to  the  ridge  top,  and  hurled  like 
round-shot  far  ashore  upon  the  marsh  by  the  force  of  the  ad- 
vancing wave,  fleeing  before  the  wrath  of  the  western  hurricane. 

••God  help  my  boy  !  "  said  Mrs.  Leigh  again. 

••God  is  as  near  him  by  sea  as  by  land,*'  said  good  Sir  Richard. 

••  True  :  but  I  am  a  lone  mother  ;  and  one  that  has  no  heart  just 
now  but  to  go  home  and  pray." 

And  so  Mrs.  Leigh  went  onward  up  the  lane,  and  spent  all  that 
night  in  listening  between  her  prayers  to  the  thunder  of  the  surge 
till  it  was  drowned,  long  ere  the  sun  rose,  in  the  thunder  of  the 
storm. 

And  where  is  Amyas  on  this  same  Christmas  afternoon  ? 

Amyas  is  sitting  bareheaded  in  a  boat's  stern  in  Smerwick  bay, 
with  the  spray  whistling  through  his  curls,  as  he  shouts  cheer- 

••  Pull,  and  with  a  will,  my  merry  men  all,  and  never  mma 
shipping  a  sea.  Cannon  balls  are  a  cargo  that  don't  spoil  by  tak- 
salt-water." 

His  mother's  presage  has  been  true  enough.  Christmas  eve 
has  been  the  last  of  the  still,  dark,  steaming  nights  of  the  early 
winter  ;  and  the  western  gale  has  been  roaring  for  the  last  twelve 
hours  upon  the  Irish  coast. 

The  short  light  of  the  winter  day  is  fading  fast.  Behind  him  is 
a  leaping  line  of  billows  lashed  into  mist  by  the  tempest.  Beside 
him  green  foam-fringed  columns  are  rushing  up  the  black  rocks, 
and  falling  again  in  a  thousand  cataracts  of  snow.  Before  him  is 
the  deep  and  sheltered  bay  :  but  it  is  not  far  up  the  ba>  that  he 
and  his  can  see  ;  for  some  four  miles  out  at  sea  begins  a  sloping 
roof  of  thick  gray  cloud,  which  stretches  over  their  heads,  and  up 
and  far  away  inland,  cutting  the  cliffs  off  at  mid-height,  hiding  all 
the  Kerry  mountains,  and  darkening  the  hollows  of  the  distant 
firths  into  the  blackness  of  night.  And  underneath  that  awful  root 
of  whirling  mist  the  storm  is  howling  inland  ever,  sweeping  be- 
fore it  the  great  foam-sponges,  and  the  gray  salt  spray,  till  all 
the  land  is  hazy,  dim,  and  dun.  Let  it  howl  on  !  for  there  is  more 
mist  than  ever  salt  spray  made,  flying  before  that  gale  ;  more 
thunder  than  ever  sea-surge  wakened  echoing  among  the  cliffs  of 
Smerwick  bay  ;  along  those  sand-hills  flash  in  the  evening  gloom 
red  sparks  which  never  came  from  heaven  ;  for  that  fort,  now 
christened  by  the  invaders  the  Fort  Del  Oro,  where  flaunts  the 
hated  golden  flag  of  Spain,  holds  San  Josepho  and  eight  hundred 
of  the  foe  ;  and  but  three  nights  ago,  Amyas  and  Yeo,  and  the 
rest  of  Winter's  shrewdest  hands,  slung  four  culverins  out  of  the 
Admiral's  main  deck,  and  floated  them  ashore,  and  dragged  them 
up  to  the  battery  among  the  sand-hills ;  and  now  it  shall  be  seeu 


154 


WESTWARD  HO  t 


whether  Spanish  and  Italian  condottieri  can  hkold  their  ov-n  onU, 
British  ground  against  the  men  of  Devon. 

Small  blame  to  Amyas  if  he  was  thinking,  not  of  his  lonely 
mother  at  Burrough  Court,  but  of  those  quick  bright  flashes  on 
sand-hill  and  on  fort,  where  Salvation  Yeo  was  hurling  the  eigh- 
teen-pound shot  with  deadly  aim,  and  watching  with  a  cool  and 
bitter  smile  of  triumph  the  flying  of  the  sand,  and  the  crashing  ot 
the  gabions.  Amyas  and  his  party  had  been  on  board,  at  the 
risk  of  their  lives,  for  a  fresn  supply  of  shot ;  for  Winter's  battery 
was  out  of  ball,  and  had  been  firing  stones  for  the  last  four  hours, 
in  default  of  better  missiles.  They  ran  the  boat  on  shore  through 
the  surt,  w^here  a  cove  in  the  shore  made  landing  possible,  and  al- 
most careless  whether  she  stove  or  not,  scrambled  over  the  sand- 
hills with  each  man  his  brace  of  shot  slung  across  his  shoulder ; 
and  Amyas,  leaping  into  the  trenches,  shouted  cheerfully  to  Sal- 
vation Yeo — 

"  More  food  for  the  bull-dogs,  Gunner,  and  plums  for  the  Span- 
iards' Christmas  pudding !  " 

"  Don't  speak  to  a  man  at  his  business.  Master  Amyas.  Five 
mortal  times  have  I  missed  ;  but  I  will  have  that  accursed  Popish 
rag  down,  as  I'm  a  sinner." 

"  Down  with  it,  then  ;  nobody  wants  you  to  shoot  crooked. 
Take  good  iron  to  it,  and  not  footy  paving-stones." 

"  I  believe,  sir,  that  the  foul  fiend  is  there,  a  turning  of  my  shot 
aside,  I  do.  I  thought  I  saw  him  once  ;  but,  thank  Heaven,  here's 
ball  again.  Ah,  sir,  if  one  could  but  cast  a  silver  one  !  Now, 
stand  by,  men  !  " 

And  once  again  Yeo's  eighteen-pounder  roared,  and  away. 
And,  oh  glory  !  the  great  yellow  flag  of  Spain,  which  streamed  in 
the  gale,  lifted  clean  into  the  air,  flagstaff  and  all,  and  then  pitched 
wildly  down  head-foremost,  far  to  leeward. 

A  hurrah  from  the  sailors,  answered  by  the  soldiers  of  the  op- 
posite camp,  shook  the  very  cloud  above  them  :  but  ere  its  echoes 
had  died  away,  a  tall  officer  leapt  upon  the  parapet  of  the  fort,  with 
the  fallen  flag  in  his  hand,  and  rearing  it  as  well  as  he  could  upon 
his  lance  point,  held  it  firmly  against  the  gale,  while  the  fallen 
flagstaff  was  raised  again  within. 

In  a  moment  a  dozen  long  bows  were  bent  at  the  daring  foe- 
man  :  but  Amyas  behind  shouted — 

"  Shame,  lads  !  Stop  and  let  the  gallant  gentleman  have  due 
courtesy  !  " 

So  they  stopped,  while  Amyas,  springing  on  the  rampart  of  the 
battery,  took  off  his  hat,  and  bowed  to  the  flag-holder,  who,  as 
soon  as  relieved  of  his  charge,  returned  the  bow  courteously,  and 
descended. 

It  was  by  this  time  all  but  dark,  and  the  firing  began  to  slacken 
on  all  sides  ;  Salvation  and  his  brother  gunners,  having  covered 
up  their  slaughtering  tackle  with  tarpaulings,  retired  for  the  night, 
leaving  Amyas,  who  had  volunteered  to  take  the  watch  till  mid- 
night ;  and  the  rest  of  the  force  having  got  their  scanty  supper  ol 


WES  TWA  RD  HO  /  1 5  5 

biscuit  (for  provisions  were   running  very  short)  lay  down  under 
arms  among  the  sand-hills,  and  grumbled  themselves  to  sleep. 

He  had  paced  up  and  down  in  the  gusty  darkness  for  some  hour 
or  more,  exchanging  a  passing  Vv^ord  now  and  then  with  the  senti- 
nel, when  two  men  entered  the  battery,  chatting  busily  together. 
One  was  in  complete  armor ;  the  other  wrapt  in  the  plain  short 
cloak  of  a  man  of  pens  and  peace  :  but  the  talk  of  both  was  neither 
ot  sieges  nor  of  sallies,  catapult,  bombard,  nor  culverin,  but 
simply  of  English  hexameters. 

And  fancy  not,  gentle  reader,  that  the  two  were  therein  fiddling 
while  Rome  was  burning  ;  for  the  commonweal  of  poetry  and 
letters,  in  that  same  critical  year  1580,  was  in  far  greater  danger 
from  those  same  hexameters  than  the  common  woe  of  Ireland  (as 
Raleigh  called  it)  was  from  the  Spaniards. 

Imitating  the  classic  metres,  "  versifying,"  as  it  was  called  in 
contradistinction  to  rhyming,  was  becoming  fast  the  fashion  among 
the  more  learned.  Stonyhurst  and  others  had  tried  their  hands 
at  hexameter  translations  from  the  Latin  and  Greek  epics  which 
seem  to  have  been  doggerel  enough  ;  and  ever  and  anon  some 
youthful  wit  broke  out  in  iambics,  sapphics,  elegiacs,  and  what 
not,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the  queen's  English  and  her  subjects* 
ears. 

I  know  not  whether  Mr.  William  Webbe  had  yet  given  to  the 
world  any  fragments  of  his  precious  hints  for  the  "  Reformation  of 
English  poetry,"  to  the  tune  of  his  own  "  Tityrus,  happily  thou 
liest  tumbling  under  a  beech-tree  :"  but  the  Cambridge  Malvolio, 
Gabriel  Harvey,  had  succeeded  in  arguing  Spenser,  Dyer,  Sidney, 
and  probably  Sidney's  sister,  and  the  whole  clique  of  beau-esprits 
round  them,  into  following  his  model  of 

"  What  might  I  call  this  tree  ?    A  laurel?    O  bonny  laurel  f 

Needes  to  thy  bowes  will  I  bowe  this  knee,  and  vail  my  bonetto;  ** 

after  snubbing  the  first  book  of  "  that  Elvish  Oueene,"  which  was 
then  in  manuscript,  as  a  base  declension  from^'the  classical  to  the 
romantic  school. 

And  now  Spenser  (perhaps  in  mere  melancholy  wilfulness  and 
want  of  purpose,  for  he  had  just  been  jilted  by  a  fair  maid  of 
Kent)  was  wasting  his  mighty  genius  upon  doggerel  which  he 
fancied  antique  ;  and  some  piratical  publisher  (Bitter  Tom  Nash 
swears,  and  with  likelihood,  that  Harvey  did  it  himself)  had  just 
given  to  the  world, — "Three  proper  wittie  and  familiar  Letters, 
lately  past  between  two  University  men,  touching  the  Earthquake 
in  April  last,  and  our  English  reformed  Versifying,"  which  had 
set  all  town  wits  a-buzzing  like  a  swarm  of  flies,  being  none  other 
than  a  correspondence  between  Spencer  and  Harvey,  which  was 
to  prove  to  the  world  forever  the  correctness  and  melody  of  such 
lines  as. 

"  For  like  magnificoes,  not  a  beck  but  glorious  in  show. 
In  deede  most  frivolous,  not  a  looke  but  Tuscanish  always." 

Let  them  pass — Alma  Mater  has  seen  as  bad  hexameters  since- 
Bet  then  the  matter  was  serious.    There  is  a  story  (I  know  not 


156  WESTWARD  no  f 

how  true),  that  Spenser  was  half  bullied  into  re-writing  the 
"  Fairy  Queen  "  in  hexameters,  had  not  Raleigh,  a  true  roman' 
ticist,  "whose  vein  for  ditty  or  amorous  ode  was  most  lofty,  in^ 
Solent,  and  passionate,"  persuaded  him  to  follow  his  better  genius. 
The  great  dramatists  had  not  yet  arisen,  to  form  completely  that 
truly  English  school,  of  which  Spenser,  unconscious  of  his  own 
vast  powers,  was  laying  the  foundation.  And,  indeed,  it  was  not 
till  Daniel,  twenty  years  after,  in  his  admirable  apology  for  rhyme 
had  smashed  Mr.  Campian  and  his  "eight  several  kinds  of  classi 
cal  numbers,"  that  the  matter  was  finally  settled,  and  the  English 
tongue  left  to  go  the  road  on  which  Heaven  had  started  it.  So 
that  we  may  excuse  Raleigh's  answering  somewhat  waspish  to 
some  quotation  of  Spenser's  from  the  three  letters  of  "  Immerito 
and  G.  H." 

"  Tut,  tut,  Colin  Clout,  much  learning  has  made  thee  mad.  A 
good  old  fishwives'  ballad  jingle  is  worth  all  your  sapphics  and 
trimeters,  and  '  ritf-raff  thurlery  bouncing.'  Hey?  have  I  you 
there,  old  lad  !     Do  you  mind  that  precious  verse  !  " 

"  But,  dear  Wat,  Homer  and  Virgil " 

"But,  dear  Ned,  Petrarch  and  Ovid " 

"  But,  Wat,  what  have  we  that  we  do  not  owe  to  the  ancients  ! " 

"  Ancients,  quotha  ?  Why,  the  legend  of  King  Arthur,  and 
Chevy  Chase  too,  of  which  even  your  fellow-sinner  Sidney  cannot 
deny  that  every  time  he  hears  it  even  from  a  blind  fiddler  it  stirs 
his  heart  like  a  trumpet-blast.  Speak  well  of  the  bridge  that 
carries  you  over,  man  !  Did  you  find  your  Redcross  Knight 
in  Virgil,  or  such  a  dame  as  Una  in  old  Ovid  ?  No  more  than 
you  did  your  Pater  and  Credo,  you  renegado  baptized  heathen, 
you  !  " 

"  Yet,  surely,  our  younger  and  more  barbarous  taste  must  bow 
before  divine  antiquity,  and  imitate  afar " 

"  As  dottrels  do  fowlers.  If  Homer  was  blind,  lad,  why  dost 
not  poke  out  thine  eye  ?  Ay,  this  hexameter  is  of  an  ancient 
house,  truly,  Ned  Spenser,  and  so  is  many  a  rogue  :  but  he  can- 
not make  way  on  our  rough  English  roads.  He  goes  hopping 
and  twitching  in  our  language  like  a  three-legged  terrier  over  a 
pebble-bank,  tumble  and  up  again,  rattle  and  crash." 

"Nay,  hear,  now — 

*  See  ye  the  blindfolded  pretty  god  that  feathered  archer, 
Of  lovers'  miseries  which  maketh  his  bloody  game?  '  ♦ 

True,  the  accent  gapes  in  places,  as  I  have  often  confessed  to 

Harvey,  but " 

"  Harvey  be  hanged  for  a  pedant,  and  the  whole  crew  of  versi 
fiers,  from  Lord  Dorset  (but  he,  poor  man,  has  been  past  hang- 
ing some  time  since)  to  yourself !  Why  delude  you  into  playing 
Procrustes  as  he  does  with  the  queen's  English,  racking  one  word 
till  its  joints  be  pulled  asunder,  and  squeezing  the  next  all  a-heap 

*  Strange  as  it  may  seeoti  this  distich  is  Spenser's  own ;  and  tke  other  hexameters  are  afl 
autheatic 


WESTWARD  HOt  I57 

as  the  Inquisitors  do  heretics  in  their  banca  cava  ?  Out  upon 
him  and  you,  and  Sidney,  and  the  whole  l<in.  You  have  not  made 
a  verse  among  you,  and  never  will,  which  is  not  as  lame  a  gos- 
ling as  Harvey's  own — 

'  Oh  thcu  weathercocke,  that  stands  on  the  top  of  Allhallows, 
Come  ihy  ways  down,  if  thou  dar'st  for  thy  crown,  and  take  the  wall  on  us.* 

"  Hark,  now  !  There  is  our  young  giant  comforting  his  soul  with 
a  ballad.  You  will  hear  rhyme  and  reason  together  here,  now. 
He  will  not  miscall  '  blind-folded,'  '  blind-fold-ed,'  I  warrant  ;  or 
make  an  '  of  and  a  '  which  '  and  a  '  his  '  carry  a  whole  verse  on 
their  wretched  little  backs." 

And  as  he  spoke,  Amyas,  who  had  been  grumbling  to  himself 
some  Christmas  carol,  broke  out  full-mouthed  : — 

•*  As  Joseph  was  a-walking 
He  heard  an  angel  sing — 
'  This  night  shall  be  the  birth  tught 
Of  Christ,  our  heavenly  King. 

His  birth  bed  shall  be  neither 
In  housen  nor  in  hall, 
Nor  in  the  place  of  Paradise, 
But  in  the  oxen's  stall 

He  neither  shall  be  rocked 
In  silver  nor  in  gold, 
But  in  the  wooden  manger 
That  lieth  on  the  mould. 

He  neither  shall  be  washen 
With  white  wine  nor  with  red. 
But  with  the  fair  spring  water 
That  on  you  shall  be  shed. 

He  neither  shall  be  cloth«:d 
In  purple  nor  in  pall, 
But  in  the  fair  white  linen 
That  usen  babies  all.' 

As  Joseph  was  a-walking 
Thus  did  the  angel  sing, 
And  Mary's  Son  at  midnight 
Was  boru  to  be  our  King. 

Then  be  j'ou  glad,  good  people, 
At  this  time  of  the  year  ; 
And  light  you  up  your  candles, 
For  His  star  it  shineth  clear." 

"There,  Edmunde  Classicaster,"  said  Raleigh,  "does  not  thaj 
simple  strain  go  nearer  to  the  heart  of  him  who  wrote  '  The  Shep. 
herd's  Calendar,'  than  all  artificial  and  outlandish 

'  Wote  ye  why  his  mother  with  a  veil  hath  covered  his  face  ?  * 

Why  dost  not  answer,  man  ?  " 

But  Spenser  was  silent  awhile,  and  then, — 

"Because  I  was  thinking  rather  of  the  rhymer  than  the  rhyme 


1 58  WESTlVARD  HO  ! 

Good  Heaven  \  how  that  brave  lad  shames  me,  singing  here  the 
hymns  which  his  mother  taught  him,  before  the  very  muzzles  oi 
Spanish  guns  ;  instead  of  bewailing  unmanly,  as  I  have  done,  the 
love  which  he  held,  I  doubt  not,  as  dear  as  I  did  even  my  Rosa- 
lind. This  is  his  welcome  to  the  winter's  storm  ;  while  I,  who 
dream,  forsooth,  of  heavenly  inspiration,  can  but  see  therein  an 
image  of  mine  own  cowardly  despair. 

'Thou  barren  5;;round,  whom  Winter's  wrath  has  wasted. 
Art  made  a  mirror  to  behold  my  plight.'* 

Pah  !  away  with  frosts,  icicles,  and  tears,  and  sighs " 

"And  with  hexameters  and  trimeters  too,  I  hope,"  interrupted 
Raleigh  :  "  and  all  the  trickeries  of  self-pleasing  sorrow." 

" 1  will  set  my  heart  to  higher  work,  than  barking  at  the 

hand  which  chastens  me." 

"  Wilt  put  the  lad  into  the  '  Fairy  Queen,*  then,  by  my  side  ? 
He  deserves  as  good  a  place  there,  believe  me,  as  ever  a  Guyon, 
or  even  as  Lord  Gray  your  Arthegall.  Let  us  hail  him.  Hallo  ! 
young  chanticleer  of  Devon  !  Art  not  afraid  of  a  chance  shot, 
that  thou  crowest  so  lustily  upon  thine  own  mixen  1 " 

"  Cocks  crow  all  night  long  at  Christmas,  Captain  Raleigh,  and 
so  do  I,"  said  Amyas's  cheerful  voice  ;  "  but  who's  there  v/ith 
you  ?  " 

"  A  penitent  pupil  of  yours — Mr.  Secretary  Spenser." 

"  Pupil  of  mine  ?  "  said  Amyas.  "  I  wish  he'd  teach  me  a  little 
of  his  art  ;  I  could  fill  up  my  time  here  with  making  verses." 

"  And  who  would  be  your  theme,  fair  sir  ?  "  said  Spenser. 

"  No  '  who'  at  all.  I  don't  want  to  make  sonnets  to  blue  eyes, 
nor  black  either  :  but  if  I  could  put  down  Some  of  the  things  I 
saw  in  the  Spice  Islands " 

"  Ah,"  said  Raleigh,  "  he  would  beat  you  out  of  Parnassus,  Mr. 
Secretary.  Rememoer,  you  may  write  about  Fairyland,  but  he 
has  seen  it." 

"  And  so  have  others,"  said  Spenser  ;  "  it  is  not  so  far  ofT  from 
any  one  of  us.  Wherever  is  love  and  loyalty,  great  purposes,  and 
lofty  souls,  even  though  in  a  hovel  or  a  mine,  there  is  Fairyland." 

"  Then  Fairyland  should  be  here,  friend  :  for  you  represent 
love,  and  Leigh  loyalty  ;  while,  as  for  great  purposes  and  lofty 
souls,  who  so  fit  to  stand  for  them  as  I,  being  (unless  my  enemies 
and  my  conscience  are  liars  both)  as  ambitious  and  as  proud  as 
Lucifer's  own  self?" 

"  Ah,  Walter,  Walter,  why  wilt  always  slander  thyself  thus  ?  " 

"  Slander  ?  Tut. — I  do  but  give  the  world  a  fair  challenge,  and 
tell  it,  '  There — you  know  the  worst  of  me  :  come  on  and  try  a 
fall,  for  either  you  or  I  must  down.'  Slander  ?  Ask  Leigh  here, 
who  has  but  known  me  a  fortnight,  whether  I  am  not  as  vain  as 
a  peacock,  as  selfish  as  a  fox,  as  imperious  as  a  bona  roba,  and 
ready  to  make  a  cat's  paw  of  him  or  any  man,  if  there  be  a  chest' 

*  "The  Shepherd's^  Calendar." 


WESTWARD  HO  t  1 59 

nut  in  the  fire  :  and  yet  the  poor  fool  cannot  help  loving  me,  and 
running  of  my  errands,  and  taking  all  my  schemes  and  my  dreams 
for  gospel  :  and  verily  believes  now,  I  think,  that  I  shall  be  the 
man  in  the  moon  some  day,  and  he  my  big  dog." 

"  Well,"  said  Amyas,  half  apologetically,  "  if  you  are  the  clever- 
est man  in  the  world  what  harm  in  my  thinking  so  ?  " 

"  Hearken  to  him,  Edmund  !  He  will  know  better  when  he 
has  outgrown  this  same  callow  trick  of  honesty,  and  learnt  ot  the 
great  goddess  Detraction  how  to  showhimself  wiser  than  the  wise, 
by  pointing  out  to  the  world  the  fool's  motley  which  peeps  through 
the  rents  in  the  philosopher's  cloak.  Go  to,  lad  !  slander  thy 
equals,  envy  thy  betters,  pray  for  an  eye  which  sees  spots  in  every 
sun,  and  for  a  vulture's  nose  to  scent  carrion  in  every  rose-bed. 
If  thy  friend  win  a  battle,  show  that  he  has  needlessly  thrown 
away  his  men  ;  if  he  lose  one,  hint  that  he  sold  it ;  if  he  rise  to  a 
place  argue  favor;  if  he  fall  from  one,  argue  divine  justice.  Be- 
lieve nothing,  hope  nothing,  but  endure  all  things,  even  to  kick- 
ing, if  aught  may  be  got  thereby  ;  so  shalt  thou  be  clothed  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  and  sit  in  king's  palaces,  and  fare  sumptu- 
ously every  day," 

•'  And  wake  with  Dives  in  the  torment,"  said  Amyas.  "  Thank 
you  for  nothing.  Captain." 

"Go  to,  Misanthropos,"  said  Spencer.  "Thou  hast  not  yet 
tasted  the  sweets  of  this  world's  comfits,  and  thou  railest  at 
them  ?  " 

"The  grapes  are  sour,  lad." 

"  And  will  be  to  the  end,"  said  Amyas,  "  if  they  come  off  such  a 
devil's  tree  as  that.  I  really  think  you  are  out  ot  your  mind,  Cap- 
tain Raleigh,  at  times." 

"  I  wish  I  were  ;  for  it  is  a  troublesome,  hungry,  windy  mind  as 
man  ever  was  cursed  withal.  But  come  in,  lad.  We  were  sent 
from  the  Lord  Deputy  to  bid  thee  to  supper.  There  is  a  dainty 
lump  of  dead  horse  waiting  for  thee." 

"Send  me  some  out,  then,"  said  matter-of-fact  Amyas.  "And 
tell  his  Lordship  that,  with  his  good  leave,  I  don't  stir  from  here 
till  morning,  if  I  can  keep  awake.  There  is  a  stir  in  the  fort,  and 
I  expect  them  out  on  us." 

"  Tut,  man  !  their  hearts  are  broken.  We  know  it  by  their  de- 
serters." 

"Seeing's  believing.  I  never  trust  runaway  rogues.  If  they  are 
false  to  their  masters,  they'll  be  false  to  us." 

"  Well,  go  thy  ways,  old  honesty  ;  and  Mr.  Secretary  shall  give 
you  a  book  to  yourself  in  the  '  Fairy  Queen  '--'  Sir  Monoculus  or 
the  Legend  of  Common  sense,'  eh,  Edmund  ?" 

"  Monoculus  ?  " 

"  Ay,  Single-eye,  my  prince  of  word-coiners — won't  that  fit  ?— 
And  give  him  the  Cyclop's  head  for  a  device.  Heigho  !  They 
may  laugh  that  win,  I  am  sick  of  this  Irish  work  ;  were  it  not 
for  the  chance  of  advancement  I'd  sooner  be  driving  a  team  of  red 
Devons  on   Dartside  :  and  nov,-  I  am  angry  with  the  dear  lad  be 


l6o  WESTWARD  HO  / 

cause  he  is  not  sick  of  it  too.  What  a  plague  business  has  he  to 
be  paddling  up  and  down,  contentedly  doing  his  duty,  like  any 
city  watchman  ?  It  is  an  insult  to  the  mighty  aspirations  of  our 
nobler  hearts, — eh,  my  would-be  Ariosto  ?  " 

"  Ah,  Raleigh  !  you  can  afford  to  confess  yourself  less  than 
some,  for  you  are  greater  than  all.  Go  on  and  conquer,  noble 
heart !  But  as  for  me,  I  sow  the  wind,  and  I  suppose  I  shall  reap 
the  whirlwind." 

"  Your  harvest  seems  come  already  ;  what  a  blast  that  was  I 
Hold  on  by  me,  Colin  Clout,  and  I'll  hold  on  by  thee.  So  !  Don't 
tread  on  that  pikeman's  stomach,  lest  he  take  thee  for  a  marauding 
Don,  and  with  sudden  dagger  slit  Colin's  pipe,  and  Colin's  weasand 
too." 

And  the  two  stumbled  away  into  the  darkness,  leaving  Amyas 
to  stride  up  and  down  as  before,  puzzling  his  brains  over  Raleigh's 
wild  words  and  Spenser's  melancholy,  till  he  came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  there  was  some  mysterious  connection  between  clever- 
ness and  unhappiness,  and  thanking  his  stars  that  he  was  neither 
scholar,  courtier,  nor  poet,  said  grace  over  his  lump  of  horseflesh 
when  it  arrived,  devoured  it  as  if  it  had  been  venison,  and  then  re- 
turned to  his  pacing  up  and  down  ;  but  this  time  in  silence,  for 
the  night  was  drawing  on,  and  there  was  no  need  to  tell  the  Span- 
iards that  any  one  was  awake  and  watching. 

So  he  began  to  think  about  his  mother,  and  how  she  might  be 
spending  her  Christmas  ;  and  then  about  Frank,  and  wondered  at 
what  grand  Court  festival  he  was  assisting,  amid  bright  lights  and 
sweet  music  and  gay  ladies,  and  how  he  was  dressed,  and  whether 
he  thought  of  his  brother  there  far  away  on  the  dark  Atlantic  shore  j 
and  then  he  said  his  prayers  and  his  creed  ;  and  then  he  tried  not 
to  think  of  Rose  Salterne,  and  of  course  thought  about  her  all  the 
more.  So  on  passed  the  dull  hours,  till  it  might  be  past  eleven 
o'clock,  and  all  lights  were  out  in  the  battery  and  the  shipping, 
and  there  was  no  sound  of  living  thing  but  the  monotonous  tramp 
of  the  two  sentinels  beside  him,  and  now  and  then  a  grunt  from 
the  party  who  slept  under  arms  some  twenty  yards  to  the  rear. 

So  he  paced  to  and  fro,  looking  carefully  out  now  and  then  over 
the  strip  of  sand-hill  which  lay  between  him  and  the  fort  ;^but  all 
was  blank  and  black,  and  moreover  it  began  to  rain  furiously. 

Suddenly  he  seemed  to  hear  a  rustle  among  the  harsh  sand- 
grass.  True,  the  wind  was  whistling  through  it  loudly  enough  : 
but  that  sound  was  not  altogether  like  the  wind.  Then  a  soft 
sliding  noise  ;  something  had  slipped  down  a  bank,  and  brought 
the  sand  down  after  it.  Amyas  stopped,  crouched  down  beside  a 
gun,  and  laid  his  ear  to  the  rampart,  whereby  he  heard  cleaily, 
as  he  thought,  the  noise  of  approaching  feet  ;  whether  rabbits  or 
Christians,  he  knew  not  :  but  he  shrewdly  guessed  the  latter. 

Now  Amyas  was  of  a  sober  and  business-like  turn,  at  least  when 
he  was  not  in  a  passion  ;  and  thinking  within  himself  that  if  he 
made  any  noise,  the  enemy  (whether  four  or  two-legged)  would  re- 
tire, and  all  the  sport  be  lost,  he  did  not  call  to  the  two  sentries. 


WESTJVARD  HO!  l6l 

vvho  were  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the  battery  ;  neither  did  he  think 
it  worth  while  to  rouse  the  sleeping-  company,  lest  his  ears  should 
have  deceived  him,  and  the  whole  camp  turnout  to  repulse  the  at- 
tack of  a  buck  rabbit.  So  he  crouched  lower  and  lower  beside 
the  culverin,  and  was  rewarded  in  a  minute  or  two  by  hearing  some- 
thing gently  deposited  against  the  mouth  of  the  embrasure,  which, 
by  the  noise,  should  be  a  piece  of  timber. 

"  So  far,  so  good,"  said  he  to  himself  ;  "  when  the  scaling  ladder 
is  up,  the  soldier  follows,  I  suppose.  I  can  only  humbly  thank 
them  for  giving  my  embrasure  the  preference.  There  he  comes  1 
I  hear  his  feet  scuffling." 

He  could  hear  plainly  enough  some  one  working  himself  into 
the  mouth  of  the  embrasure  :  but  the  plague  was,  that  it  was  so 
dark  that  he  could  not  see  his  hand  between  him  and  the  sky, 
much  less  his  foe  at  two  yards  off.  However,  he  made  a  pretty 
fair  guess  as  to  the  whereabouts,  and,  rising  softly,  discharged 
such  a  blow  downwards  as  would  have  split  a  yule  log.  A  volley 
of  sparks  flew  up  from  the  hapless  Spaniard's  armor,  and  a  grunt 
issued  from  within  it,  which  proved  that,  whether  he  was  killed  or 
not,  the  blow  had  not  improved  his  respiration. 

Amyas  felt  for  his  head,  seized  it,  dragged  him  in  over  the  gun, 
sprang  into  the  embrasure  on  his  knees,  felt  for  the  top  of  the  lad- 
der, found  it,  hove  it  clean  off  and  out,  with  four  or  five  men  on  it, 
and  then  of  course  tumbled  after  it  ten  feet  into  the  sand,  roaring 
like  a  town  bull  to  her  Majesty's  liege  subjects  in  general. 

Sailor-fashion,  he  had  no  armor  on  but  a  light  morion  and  a 
cuirass,  so  he  was  not  too  much  encumbered  to  prevent  his  spring- 
ing to  his  legs  instantly,  and  setting  to  work,  cutting  and  foining 
right  and  left  at  every  sound,  for  sight  there  was  none. 

Battles  (as  soldiers  know,  and  newspaper  editors  do  not)  are 
usually  fought,  not  as  they  ought  to  be  fought,  but  as  they  can  be 
fought :  and  while  the  literary  man  is  laying  down  the  law  at  his 
desk  as  to  how  many  troops  should  be  moved  here,  and  what 
rivers  should  be  crossed  there,  and  where  the  cavalry  should  have 
been  brought  up,  and  when  the  flank  should  have  been  turned,  the 
wretched  man  who  has  to  do  the  work  finds  the  matter  settled  for 
him  by  pestilence,  want  of  shoes,  empty  stomachs,  bad  roads, 
heavy  rains,  hot  suns,  and  a  thousand  other  stern  warriors  who 
never  show  on  paper. 

So  with  this  skirmish  ;  "  according  to  Cocker,"  it  ought  to  have 
been  a  very  pretty  one  ;  for  Hercules  of  Pisa,  who  planned  the 
sortie,  had  arranged  it  all  (being  a  very  sajis-appel  in  all  mili- 
tary science)  upon  the  best  Italian  Drecedents,  and  had  brought 
against  this  very  hapless  battery  a  column  of  a  hundred  to  attack 
directly  in  front,  a  company  of  fifty  to  turn  the  right  flank,  and  a 
company  of  fifty  to  turn  the  left  tiank,  with  regulations,  orders, 
passwords,  countersigns,  and  v\'hat  not  ;  so  that  if  every  man  had 
had  his  rights  (as  seldom  happens),  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magda- 
lena  de  Soto,  who  commanded  the  sortie,  ought  to  have  taken  the 
work  out  of  hand,  and   annihilated   all   therein.     But  alas  !  here 


J  6  2  WESTWARD  HO  T 

stern  fate  interfered.  They  had  chosen  a  dark  night,  as  was 
politic  ;  they  had  waited  till 'the  moon  was  up.  lest  it  should  be  too 
dark,  as  was  politic  likewise  :  but,  just  as  they  had  started,  on 
came  a  heavy  squall  of  rain,  through  which  seven  moons  would  have 
given  no  light,  and  which  washed  out  the  plans  of  Hercules  of  Pisa 
as  if  they  had  been  written  on  a  schoolboy's  slate.  The  company 
who  were  to  turn  the  left  flank  v/aiked  manfully  down  into  the  sea. 
and  never  found  out  where  they  were  going  till  they  were  knee-deep 
in  water.  The  company  who  were  to  turn  the  right  flank,  bewilder- 
ed  by  the  utter  darkness,  turned  their  own  flank  so  often,  that  tired 
Df  falling  into  rabbit-burrows  and  filling  their  mouths  with  sand, 
they  halted  and  prayed  to  all  the  saints  for  a  compass  and  lantern  ; 
while  the  centre  body,  who  held  straight  on  by  a  trackway  to 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  battery,  so  miscalculated  that  short  dis- 
tance, that  while  they  thought  the  ditch  two  pikes'  length  off,  they 
fell  into  it  one  over  the  other,  and  of  six  scaling  ladders,  the  only 
one  which  could  be  found  was  the  very  one  which  Amyas  threw 
down  again.  After  which  the  clouds  broke,  the  wind  shifted,  and 
the  moon  shone  out  merrily.  And  so  was  the  deep  policy  of  Her- 
cules of  Pisa,  on  which  hung  the  fate  of  Ireland  and  the  Papacy, 
decided  by  a  ten  minutes*  squall. 

But  where  is  Amyas  ? 

In  the  ditch,  aware  that  the  enemy  is  tumbling  into  it,  but  unable 
to  find  them  ;  v;hile  the  company  above,  finding  it  much  too  dark 
to  attempt  a  counter  sortie,  have  opened  a  smart  fire  of  musketry 
and  arrows  on  things  in  general,  whereat  the  Spaniards  are  swear- 
ing like  Spaniards  (1  need  say  no  more),  and  the  Italians  spitting 
like  venomous  cats  ;  while  Amyas,  not'  wishing  to  be  riddled  by 
friendly  balls,  has  got  his  back  against  the  foot  of  the  rampart,  and 
waits  on  Providence. 

Suddenly  the  moon  clears  ;  and  with  one  more  fierce  volley,  the 
English  sailors,  seeing  the  confusion,  leap  down  from  the  embras- 
ures, and  to  it  pell-mell.  Whether  this  also  was  "according  to 
Cocker,"  I  know  not :  but  the  sailor,  then  as  now,  is  not  suscep- 
tible of  highly-finished  drill. 

Amyas  is  now  in  his  element,  and  so  are  the  brave  fellows  at  his 
heels  ;  and  there  are  ten  breathless,  furious  minutes  among  the 
sand-hills  ;  and  then  the  trumpets  blow  a  recall,  and  the  sailors 
drop  back  again  by  twos  and  threes,  and  are  helped  up  into 
the  embrasures  over  many  a  dead  and  dying  foe  ;  while  the  guns 
ot  Fort  del  Oro  open  on  them,  and  blaze  away  for  half-an-hour 
without  reply  ;  and  then  all  is  still  once  more.  And  in  the  mean- 
while, the  sortie  against  the  Deputy's  camp  has  fared  no  better, 
and  the  victory  of  the  night  remains  with  the  English. 

Twenty  minutes  after,  Winter  and  the  captains  who  were  on 
shore  were  drying  themselves  round  a  peat-fire  on  the  beach,  and 
talking  over  the  skirmish,  when  Will  Cary  asked — 

"  Where  is  Leigh  ?  who  has  seen  him  ?  I  am  sadly  afraid  he  has 
gone  too  far,  and  been  slain." 

"  Slain  ?     Never  less,  gentlemen  !  "  replied  the  voice  of  the  very 


W£.STIVARD  nor  1 63 

person  in  question,  as  he  stalked  out  of  the  darkness  into  the  glare 
of  the  fire,  and  shot  down  from  his  shoulders  into  the  midst  of  the 
ring,  as  he  might  a  sack  of  corn,  a  huge  dark  body,  which  was 
gradually  seen  to  be  a  man  in  rich  armor  ;  who  being  so  shot 
down,  lay  quietly  where  he  was  dropped,  with  his  feet  (luckily  for 
him  mailed)  in  the  fire. 

"  I  say,"  quoth  Amyas,  "some  of  you  had  better  take  him  up,  if 
lie  is  to  be  of  any  use.     Unlace  his  helm..  Will  Cary." 

"  Pull  his  feet  out  of  the  embers  ;  I  dare  say  he  would  have  been 
glad  enough  to  put  us  to  the  scarpines ;  but  that's  no  reason  we 
should  put  him  to  them." 

As  has  been  hinted,  there  was  no  love  lost  between  Admiral  Win- 
ter and  Amyas  ;  and  Amyas  might  certainly  have  reported  himself 
in  a  more  ceremonious  manner.  So  Winter,  whom  Amyas  either 
had  not  seen,  or  had  not  chosen  to  see,  asked  him  pretty  sharply, 
"  What  the  plague  he  had  to  do  with  bringing  dead  men  into 
camp  ?  " 

"  If  he's  dead,  it's  not  my  fault.  He  was  alive  enough  when  I 
started  with  him,  and  I  kept  him  right  end  uppermost  all  the  way  • 
and  what  would  you  have  more,  sir  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Leigh  !  "  said  Winter,  "  it  behoves  you  to  speak  with  some- 
what more  courtesy,  if  not  respect,  to  captains  who  are  your  elders 
and  commanders." 

"Ask  your  pardon,  sir,"  said  the  giant,  as  he  stood  in  front  of 
the  fire  with  the  rain  steaming  and  smoking  off  his  armor ;  but 
I  was  bred  in  a  school  where  getting  good  service  done  was  more 
esteemed  than  maikng  fine  speeches." 

"  Whatsoever  school  you  were  trained  in,  sir,"  said  Winter,  net- 
tled at  the  hint  about  Drake,  "  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  one. 
in  which  you  learned  to  obey  orders.  Why  did  you  not  come  in 
when  the  recall  was  sounded  ?  " 

"  Because,"  said  Amyas,  very  coolly,  "  in  the  first  place  I  did  not 
hear  it ;  and  in  the  next,  in  my  school  I  was  taught  when  I  had 
once  started  not  to  come  home  empty-handed." 

This  was  too  pointed  ;  and  Winter  sprang  up  with  an  oath— 
"  Do  you  mean  to  insult  me,  sir  ?  " 

"I  am  sorry,  sir,  that  you  should  take  a  compliment  to  Sir 
Francis  Drake  as  an  insult  to  yourself.  I  brought  in  this 
gentleman  because  I  thought  he  might  give  you  good  informa- 
tion ;  if  he  dies  meanwhile,  the  loss  will  be  yours,  or  rather  the 
queen's." 

"  Help  me,  then,"  said  Cary,  glad  to  create  a  diversion  in 
Amyas's  favor,  "  and  we  will  bring  him  round  ;  "  while  Raleigh 
rose,  and  catching  Winter's  arm,  drew  him  aside,  and  began  talk- 
ing earnestly. 

"  What  a  murrain  have  you,  Leigh,  to  quarrel  with  Winter  ?  " 
asked  two  or  three. 

"I  say,  my  reverend  fathers  and  dear  children,  do  get  the  Don's 
talking  tackle  free  again,  and  leave  me  and  the  Admiral  to  settle 
it  our  own  way." 


1 64  WESTWARD  HOI 

There  was  more  than  one  captain  sitting  in  the  ring  :  but  disci 
pline,  and  the  degrees  of  rank,  were  not  so  severely  defined  as 
now  ;  and  Amyas,  as  a  "  gentleman  adventurer,"  was,  on  land,  in 
a  position  very  difficult  to  be  settled,  though  at  sea  he  was  as  liable 
to  be  hanged  as  any  other  person  on  board  ;  and  on  the  whole  it 
was  found  expedient  to  patch  the  matter  up.  So  Captain  Raleigh 
returning,  said  that  though  Admiral  Winter  had  doubtless  taken 
umbrage  at  certain  words  of  Mr.  Leigh's  yet  that  he  had  no  doub  1 
that  Mr.  Leigh  meant  nothing  thereby  but  what  was  consistent 
with  the  profession  of  a  soldier  and  a  gentleman,  and  worthy  both 
of  himself  and  of  the  Admiral. 

From  which  proposition  Amyas  found  it  impossible  to  dissent ; 
whereon  Raleigh  went  back,  and  informed  Winter  that  Leigh  had 
freely  retracted  his  words,  and  fully  wiped  off  any  imputation 
which  Mr.  Winter  might  conceive  to  have  been  put  upon  him,  and 
so  forth.     So  Winter  returned,  and  Amyas  said  frankly  enough — 

"Admiral  Winter,  I  hope,  as  a  loyal  soldier,  that  you  will  un- 
derstand thus  far  ;  that  naught  which  has  passed  to-night  shall  in 
any  way  prevent  you  finding  me  a  forward  and  obedient  servant 
to  all  your  commands,  be  they  what  they  may,  and  a  supporter  of 
your  authority  among  the  men,  and  honor  against  the  foe,  even 
with  my  life.  For  I  should  be  ashamed  if  private  differences 
should  ever  prejudice  by  a  grain  the  public  weal." 

This  was  a  great  effort  of  oratory  for  Amyas  ;  and  he  therefore, 
in  order  to  be  safe  by  following  precedent,  tried  to  talk  as  much 
as  he  could  like  Sir  Richard  Grenvile.  Of  course  Winter  could 
answer  nothing  to  it,  in  spite  of  the  plain  hint  of  private  differ- 
ences, but  that  he  should  not  fail  to  show  himself  a  captain  worthy 
of  so  valiant  and  trusty  a  gentleman  ;  whereon  the  whole  party 
turned  their  attention  to  the  captive,  who  thanks  to  Will  Cary, 
was  by  this  time  sitting  up,  standing  much  in  need  of  a  handker- 
chief, and  looking  about  him,  having  been  unhelmed,  in  a  con- 
fused and  doleful  manner. 

"Take  the  gentleman  to  my  tent,"  said  Winter,  "and  let  the 
surgeon  see  to  him.     Mr.  Leigh,  who  is  he  ? " 

"  An  enemy,  but  whether  Spaniard  or  Italian  I  know  not ;  but 
he  seemed  somebody  among  them,  I  thought  the  captain  of  a  com- 
pany. He  and  I  cut  at  each  other  twice  or  thrice  at  first,  and  then 
lost  each  other  ;  and  after  that  I  came  on  him  among  the  sand- 
hills, trying  to  rally  his  men,  and  swearing  like  the  mouth  of  the 
pit,  whereby  I  guessed  him  a  Spaniard.  But  his  men  ran  ;  so  ^ 
brought  him  in." 

"  And  how  ?  "  asked  Raleigh.  "  Thou  art  giving  us  all  the  play 
but  the  murders  and  the  marriages." 

"Why,  I  bid  him  yield,  and  he  would  not.  Then  I  bid  him  run, 
and  he  would  not.  And  it  was  too  pitch-dark  for  fighting  ;  so  I 
took  him  by  the  ears,  and  shook  the  wind  out  of  him,  and  so  brought 
him  in." 

"  Shook  the  wind  out  of.  him  ?  "  cried  Cary,  amid  the  roar  o^ 


IVESTIVARD  NO!  1(^5 

laughter  which  followed.  "Dost  know  thou  hast  nearly  wrung 
his  neck  in  two  ?     His  visor  was  full  of  blood." 

"  He  should  have  run  or  yielded,  then,"  said  Amyas  ;  and  get- 
ting up,  slipped  off  to  find  some  ale,  and  then  to  sleep  comfortably 
in  a  dry  burrow  which  he  scratched  out  of  a  sandbank. 

The  next  mondng,  as  Amyas  was  discussing  a  scanty  breakfast 
of  biscuit  (for  provisions  were  running  very  short  in  camp)  Raleigh 
came  up  to  him. 

"  What,  eating  ?     That's  more  than  I  have  done  to-day. 

"Sit  down,  and  share,  then." 

"  Nay,  lad,  I  did  not  come  a-begging.  I  have  set  some  of  my 
rogues  to  dig  rabbits  ;  but  as  I  live,  young  Colbrand,  you  may 
thank  your  stars  that  you  are  alive  to-day  to  eat.  Poor  young 
Cheek— Sir  John  Cheek,  the  grammarian's  son— got  his  quittance 
last  night  by  a  Spanish  pike,  rushing  headlong  on,  just  as  you  did. 
But  have  you  seen  your  prisoner  ?  " 

"  No  ;  nor  shall,  while  he  is  in  Winter's  tent." 

"  Why  not,  then  ?  What  quarrel  have  you  against  the  Admiral, 
friend  Bobadil  1  Cannot  you  let  Francis  Drake  fight  his  own 
battles,  without  thrusting  your  head  in  between  them  ?  " 

"  Well  that  is  good  !  As  if  the  quarrel  was  not  just  as  much 
mine,  and  every  man's  in  the  ship.  Why,  when  he  left  Drake,  he 
left  us  all,  did  he  not  ?  " 

"  And  what  if  he  did  ?  Let  bygones  be  bygones  is  the  rule  of  a 
Christian,  and  of  a  wise  man,  too,  Amyas.  Here  the  man  is,  at 
least,  safe  home,  in  favor  and  in  power  ;  and  a  prudent  youth  will 
just  hold  his  tongue,  mumchance,  and  swim  with  the  stream." 

"  But  that's  just  what  makes  me  mad  ;  to  see  this  fellow,  after  de- 
serting us  there  in  unknown  seas,  win  credit  and  rank  at  home  here 
for  being  the  first  man  who  ever  sailed  back  through  the  Straits. 
What  had  he  to  do  with  sailing  back  at  all  !  As  well  make  the  fox 
a  knight  for  being  the  first  that  ever  jumped  down  a  jakes  to  escape 
the  hounds.     The  fiercer  the  flight  the  fouler  the  fear,  say  I." 

"  Amyas  !  Amyas  !  thou  art  a  hard  hitter,  but  a  soft  politician.** 

"  I  am  no  politician,  Captain  Raleigh,  nor  ever  wish  to  be.  An 
honest  man's  my  friend,  and  a  rogue's  my  foe  ;  and  I'll  tell  both 
as  much,  as  long  as  I  breathe." 

"  And  die  a  poor  saint,"  said  Raleigh,  laughing.  "  But  if  Win- 
ter invites  you  to  his  tent  himself,  you  won't  refuse  to  come  ?  " 

"  Why,  no,  considering  his  years  and  rank  ;  but  he  knows  too 
well  to  do  that." 

"  He  knows  too  well  not  to  do  it,"  said  Raleigh,  laughing  as  he 
walked  away.  And  verily  in  half-an-hour  came  an  invitation,  e.x- 
tracted,  of  course,  from  the  Admiral  by  Raleigh's  silver  tongue, 
which  Amyas  could  not  but  obey. 

"  We  all  owe  you  thanks  for  last  night's  service,  sir,"  said  Win- 
ter, who  had  for  some  good  reasons  changed  his  tone.  "  Your 
prisoner  is  found  to  be  a  gentleman  of  birth  and  experience,  and 
the  leader  of  the  assault  last  night.     He  has  already  told  us  more 


z66  H'ESrWARD  HO  I 

than  we  had  hoped,  for  which  also  we  are  beholden  to  you  ;  and, 
indeed  my  Lord  Gray  has  been  asking  for  you  already." 

"I  have,  young  sir,"  said  a  quiet  and  lofty  voice  ;  and  Amyas 
saw  limping  from  the  inner  tent  the  proud  and  stately  figure  of 
the  stern  Deputy,  Lord  Gray  of  Wilton,  a  brave  and  wise  man, 
but  with  a  naturally  harsh  temper,  which  had  been  soured  still 
more  by  the  wound  which  had  crippled  him,  while  yet  a  boy,  a" 
the  battle  of  Leith.  He  owed  that  limp  to  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  : 
and  he  did  not  forget  the  debt. 

••  I  have  been  asking  for  you  ;  having  heard  from  many,  both 
of  your  last  night's  prowess,  and  of  your  conduct  and  courage  be- 
yond the  promise  of  your  years,  displayed  in  that  ever-memorable 
voyage,  which  may  well  be  ranked  with  the  deeds  of  the  ancient 
Argonauts." 

Amyas  bowed  low  ;  and  the  Lord  Deputy  went  on,  "You  will 
needs  wish  to  see  your  prisoner.  You  will  find  him  such  a  one  as 
you  need  not  be  ashamed  to  have  taken,  and  as  need  not  be 
ashamed  to  have  been  taken  by  you  :  but  here  he  is,  and  will,  I 
doubt  not,  answer  as  much  for  himself.  Know  each  other  better, 
gentlemen  both  :  last  night  was  an  ill  one  for  making  acquaint- 
ances. Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto,  know 
the  hidalgo,  Amyas  Leigh  !  " 

As  he  spoke,  the  Spaniard  came  forward,  still  in  his  armor,  all 
save  his  head,  which  was  bound  up  in  a  handkerchief. 

He  was  an  exceedingly  tall  and  graceful  personage,  of  that 
sangre  asul  which  marked  high  Visi-gothic  descent  ;  golden- 
haired  and  fair-skinned,  with  hands  as  small  and  white  as  a 
woman's  ;  his  lips  were  delicate,  but  thin,  and  compressed  closely 
at  the  corners  of  the  mouth  ;  and  his  pale  blue  eye  had  a  glassy 
dulness.  In  spite  of  his  beauty  and  his  carriage,  Amyas  shrank 
from  him  instinctively  ;  and  yet  he  could  not  help  holding  out  his 
hand  in  return,  as  the  Spaniard  holding  out  his,  said  languidly,  in 
vnost  sweet  and  sonorous  Spanish — 

"I  kiss  his  hands  and  feet.  The  Sefior  speaks,  I  am  told,  my 
native  tongue  ?  " 

"  I  have  that  honor." 

"Then  accept  in  it  (for  I  cati  better  express  myself  therein 
than  in  English,  though  I  am  not  altogether  ignorant  of  that 
witty  and  learned  language)  the  expression  of  my  pleasure  at  hav- 
ing fallen  into  the  hands  of  one  so  renowned  in  war  and  travel  ; 
and  of  one  also,"  he  added,  glancing  at  Amyas's  giant  bulk. 
"  the  vastness  of  whose  strength,  beyond  that  of  common  mortal- 
ity, makes  it  no  more  shame  for  me  to  have  been  overpowered 
and  carried  away  by  him  than  if  my  captor  had  been  a  paladin  of 
Charlemagne's." 

Honest  Amyas  bowed  and  stammered,  a  little  thrown  off  his 
balance  by  the  unexpected  assurance  and  cool  flatter)'  of  his  pris- 
oner ;  but  he  said, — 

"  if  you  are  satisfied,  illustrious  Sefior,  I  am  bound  to  be  so.     I 


'WESTWARD  ffOr  1^7 

only  trust,  that  in  my  hurry  and  the  darkness,  I  have  not  hurt  you 
unnecessarily." 

The  Don  laug-hed  a  pretty  little  hollow  laugh  •.  "  No,  kind 
Senor,  my  head,  I  trust,  will  after  a  few  days  have  become  united 
to  my  shoulders  ;  and,  for  the  present,  your  company  will  make 
me  forget  any  slight  discomfort." 

"  Pardon  me,  Sefior  ;  but  by  this  daylight  I  should  have  seen 
that  armor  before." 

"  I  doubt  it  not,  SeRor,  as  having  been  yourself  also  in  the  fore- 
front of  the  battle,"  said  the  Spaniard,  with  a  proud  smile. 

"If  I  am  Tight,  Sefior,  you  are  he  who  yesterday  held  up  the 
standard  after  it  was  shot  down." 

"  I  do  not  deny  that  undeserved  honor  ;  and  I  have  to  thank 
the  courtesy  of  you  and  vour  countrymen  for  having  permitted  me 
to  do  so  with  impunity.* 

"  Ah,  I  heard  of  that  brave  feat,"  said  the  Lord  Deputy.  "You 
should  consider  yourself,  Mr.  Leigh,  honored  by  being  enabled  to 
show  courtesy  to  such  a  warrior." 

How  long  this  interchange  of  solemn  compliments,  of  which 
Amyas  was  getting  somewhat  weary,  would  have  gone  on,  I  know 
not :  but  at  that  moment  Raleigh  entered  hastily — 

"  My  Lord,  they  have  hung  out  a  white  flag,  and  are  calling  for 
a  parley  !  " 

The  Spaniard  turned  pale,  and  felt  for  his   sword,  which  was 

fone  ;  and  then,  with  a  bitter  laugh,  murmured  to  himself—"  As 
expected." 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  hear  it.  Would  to  Heaven  they  had  simply 
fought  it  out  !  "  said  Lord  Gray  half  to  himself ;  and  then,  "  Go,  Cap- 
tain Raleigh,  and  answer  them  that  (saving  this  gentleman's  pree- 
ence)  the  laws  of  war  forbid  a  parley  with  any  who  are  leagued 
with  rebels  against  their  lawful  sovereign." 

"  But  what  if  they  wish  to  treat  for  this  gentleman's  ransom  ?  " 

"  For  their  own,  more  likely,"  said  the  Spaniard  ;  "  but  tell 
them,  on  my  part,  Senor,  that  Don  Guzman  refuses  to  be  ran- 
somed ;  and  will  return  to  no  camp  where  the  commanding 
officer,  unable  to  infect  his  captains  with  his  own  cowardice,  dis- 
honors them  against  their  will." 

"  You  speak  sharply,  Senor,"  said  Winter,  after  Raleigh  had 
gone  out. 

"  I  have  reason,  Sefior  Admiral,  as  you  will  find,  I  fear,  ere 
iong." 

"  We  shall  have  the  honor  of  leaving  you  here,  for  the  present, 
sir,  as  Admiral  Winter's  guest,"  said  the  Lord  Deputy. 

"  But  not  my  sword,  it  seems." 

«'  Pardon  me,  Sefior  ;  but  no  one  has  deprived  you  of  your 
sword,"  said  Winter. 

"  I  don't  wish  to  pain  you,  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "  but  I  fear  that  we 
were  both  careless  enough  to  leave  it  behind  last  night." 

A  flash  passed  over  the  Spaniard's  face,  which  disclosed  terrible 
depths  of  fur)'  and  hatred  beneath  that  quiet  ma^k,  as  the  summer 


1 68  WESTWA2^D  HO! 

lightning  displays  the  black  abysses  of  the  thunder-storm  ;  but  like 
the  summer  lightning  it  passed  almost  unseen  ;  and  blandly  as 
ever,  he  answered — 

"I  can  forgive  you  for  such  a  neglect,  most  valiant  sir,  more 
easily  than   I  can  forgive  myself.     Farewell,  sir!     One  who  has 
lost  his  sword  is  no  fit  company  for  you."     And  as  Amvas  and  the 
rest  departed  he  plunged  into  the  inner  tent,  stamping  'and  writh 
ing,  gnawing  his  hands  with  rage  and  shame. 

As  Amyas  came  out  on  the  battery,  Yeo  hailed  him — 

"Master  Amyas!  Hillo,  sir!  For  the  love  of  Heaven  tell 
me  ! " 

"  What  then  ?  " 

"  Is  his  Lordship  staunch  ?  Will  he  do  the  Lord's  work  faith- 
fully, root  and  branch  :  or  will  he  spare  the  Amalekites  .?  " 

"The  latter,  I  think,  old  hip-and-thigh,"  said  Amyas,  hurrying 
forward  to  hear  the  news  from  Raleigh,  who  appeared  in  sight 
once  more. 

"  They  ask  to  depart  with  bag  and  baggage,"  said  he,  when  he 
came  up. 

"  God  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  they  carry  away  a  straw  !  " 
said  Lord  Gray.     "  Make  short  work  of  it,  sir  !  " 

"  I  do  not  know  how  that  will  be,  my  Lord  ;  as  I  came  up  a  cap- 
tain shouted  to  me  off  the  walls  that  there  were  mutineers  ;  and, 
denying  that  he  surrendered,  would  have  pulled  down  the  flag  of 
truce,  but  the  soldiers  beat  him  off." 

"  A  house  divided  against  itself  will  not  stand  long,  gentlemen. 
Tell  them  that  I  give  no  conditions.  Let  them  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  trust  to  the  Bishop  of  Rome  who  sent  them  hither,  and 
may  come  to  save  them  if  he  wants  them.  Gunners,  if  you  see  the 
white  flag  go  down,  open  your  fire  instantly.  Captain  Raleigh, 
we  need  your  counsel  here.  Mr.  Gary,  will  you  be  my  herald  this 
time  ? " 

"  A  better  Protestant  never  went  on  a  pleasanter  errand,  mv 
Lord."  ^ 

So  Gary  went,  and  then  ensued  an  argument,  as  to  what  should 
be  done  with  the  prisoners  in  case  of  a  surrender. 

I  cannot  tell  whether  my  Lord  Gray  meant,  by  oft'ering  condi- 
tions which  the  Spaniards  would  not  accept,  to'  force  them  into 
fighting  the  quarrel  out,  and  so  save  himself  the  responsibility  of 
deciding  on  their  fate  ;  or  whether  his  mere  natural  stubbornness 
as  well  as  his  just  indignation,  drove  him  on  too  far  to  retract : 
but  the  council  of  war  which  followed  was  both  a  sad  and  a 
stormy  one,  and  one  which  he  had  reason  to  regret  to  his  dying 
day.  What  was  to  be  done  with  the  enemy  }  They  already  out- 
numbered the  English;  and  some  fifteen  hundred  ofDesniond's 
wild  Irish  hovered  in  the  forests  round,  ready  to  side  with  the 
winning  party,  or  even  to  attack  the  English  at  the  least  sign  of 
vacillation  or  fear.  They  could  not  carry  the  Spaniards  away 
with  them,  for  they  had  neither  shipping  nor  food,  not  even  hand- 
cuff^ enough  for  them  ;  and  as  Mackworth  told  Winter  when  hd 


/  I'ES  y  WA  RD  J/0  :  169 

proposed  it,  the  only  plan  was  for  him  to  make  San  Josepho  a  pres- 
ent of  his  ships,  and  swim  home  himself  as  he  could.  To  turn 
loose  in  Ireland,  as  Captain  Touch  urged,  on  the  other  hand, 
seven  hundred  such  monsters  of  lawlessness,  cruelty,  and  lust,  as 
Spanish  and  Italian  condottieri  were  in  those  days,  was  as  fatal  to 
their  own  safety  as  cruel  to  the  wretched  Irish.  All  the  captains, 
without  exception,  followed  on  the  same  side.  "  What  was  to  be 
done,  then  .?  "  asked  Lord  Gray  impatiently.  "  Would  they  have 
him  murder  them  all  in  cold  blood  }  " 

And  for  a  while  every  man,  knowing  that  it  must  come  to  that, 
and  yet  not  daring  to  say  it  ;  till  Sir  Warham  St.  Leger,  the  Mar- 
shal of  Munster,  spoke  out  stoutly — "  Foreigners  had  been  scoffing 
them  too  long  and  too  truly  with  waging  these  Irish  wars  as  if 
they  meant  to  keep  them  alive,  rather  than  end  them.  Mercy  and 
faith  to  every  Irishman  who  would  show  mercy  and  faith,  was  his 
motto  ;  but  to  invaders,  no  mercy.  Ireland  was  England's  vul- 
nerable point ;  it  might  be  some  day  her  ruin  ;  a  terrible  example 
must  be  made  of  those  who  dare  to  touch  the  sore.  Rather  pardon 
the  Spaniards  for  landing  in  the  Thames  than  in  Ireland  !" — till 
Lord  Grey  became  much  excited,  and  turning  as  a  last  hope  to 
Raleigh,  asked  his  opinion  :  but  Raleigh's  silver  tongue  was  that 
day  not  on  the  side  of  indulgence.  He  skilfully  recapitulated  the 
arguments  of  his  fellow-captains,  improving  them  as  he  went  on, 
till  each  worthy  soldier  was  surprised  to  find  himself  so  much 
wiser  a  man  than  he  had  thought  ;  and  finished  by  one  of  his 
rapid  and  passionate  perorations  upon  his  favorite  theme — the 
West  Indian  cruelties  of  the  Spaniards,  "  ....  by  which  great 
tracts  and  fair  countries  are  now  utterly  stripped  of  inhabitants  by 
heavy  bondage  and  torments  unspeakable.  Oh,  witless  Islanders  !  " 
said  he,  apostrophizing  the  Irish;  "would  to  Heaven  that  you 
were  here  to  listen  to  me  !  What  other  fate  awaits  you,  if  this  viper, 
which  you  are  so  ready  to  take  into  your  bosom,  should  be  warmed 
to  life,  but  to  groan  like  the  Indians,  slaves  to  the  Spaniards  ; 
but  to  perish  like  the  Indians,  by  heavy  burdens,  cruel  chains, 
plunder  and  ravishment ;  scourged,  racked,  roasted,  stabbed, 
sawn  in  sunder,  cast  to  feed  the  dogs,  as  simple  and  more 
righteous  peoples  have  perished  ere  now  by  millions  ?  And  what 
else,  I  say,  had  been  the  fate  of  Ireland  had  this  invasion  prospered, 
which  God  has  now,  by  our  weak  hands,  confounded  and  brought 
to  nought  ?  Shall  we  then  answer  it,  my  Lord,  either  to  our  con- 
science, our  God,  or  our  queen,  if  we  shall  set  loose  men  (not  one 
of  whom,  I  warrant,  but  is  stained  with  murder  on  murdei)  to  go 
and  fill  up  the  cup  of  their  iniquity  among  these  silly  sheep  .-*  Have 
not  their  native  wolves,  their  barbarous  chieftains,  shorn,  peeled, 
and  slaughtered  them  enough  already,  but  we  must  add  this  pack 
of  foreigh  wolves  to  the  number  of  their  tormentors,  and  fit  the 
Desmond  with  a  bodyguard  of  seven,  yea,  seven  hundred  devils 
worse  than  himself?  Nay,  rather  let  us  do  violence  to  our  own 
human  nature,  and  show  ourselves  in  appearance  rigorous,  that 
we  may  be  kind  indeed  ;  lest  while  we  presume  to  be  over-merci- 


170  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

ful  to  the  guilty,  we  prove  ourselves  to  be  over-cruel  to  the  in- 
nocent," 

"Captain  Raleigh,  Captain  Raleigh,"  said  Lord  Gray,  "the 
blood  of  these  men  be  on  your  head  !  " 

"  It  ill  befits  your  Lordship,"  answered  Raleigh,  "to  throw  on 
your  subordinates  the  blame  of  that  which  your  reason  approves 
as  necessary." 

"I  should  have  thought,  sir,  that  one  so  noted  for  ambition  as 
Captain  Raleigh  would  have  been  more  careful  of  the  favor  of  that 
queen  for  whose  smiles  he  is  said  to  be  so  longing  a  competitor. 
If  you  have  not  yet  been  of  her  counsels,  sir,  I  can  tell  you  you 
are  not  likely  to  be.  She  will  be  furious  when  she  hears  of  this 
cruelty." 

Lord  Gray  had  lost  his  temper  :  but  Raleigh  kept  his,  and  an- 
swered quietly — 

"  Her  majesty  shall  at  least  not  find  me  among  the  number  of 
those  who  prefer  her  favor  to  her  safety,  and  abuse  to  their  own 
profit  that  over-tenderness  and  mercifulness  of  heart  which  is  the 
only  blemish  (and  yet,  rather  like  a  mole  on  a  fair  cheek,  but  a  new 
beauty)  in  her  manifold  perfections." 

At  this  juncture  Cary  returned. 

"  My  Lord,"  said  lie,  in  some  confusion,  "  I  have  proposed 
your  terms  ;  but  the  captains  still  entreat  for  some  mitigation  ; 
and,  to  tell  you  truth,  one  of  them  has  insisted  on  accompanying 
me  hither  to  plead  his  cause  himself." 

"  I  will  not  see  him,  sir.     Who  is  he  ?  " 

"  His  name  is  Sebastian  of  Modena,  my  Lord." 

"Sebastian  of  Modena  ?  What  think  you,  gentlemen?  May 
we  make  an  exception  in  favor  of  so  famous  a  soldier  ?  " 

"So  villanous  a  cut-throat,"  said  Zouch  to  Raleigh,  under  his 
breath. 

All,  however,  were  for  speaking  with  so  famous  a  man  ;  and  in 
came,  in  full  armor,  a  short,  bull-necked  Italian,  evidently  of  im- 
mense strength,  of  the  true  C^sar  Borgia  stamp. 

"  Will  you  please  to  be  seated,  sir,"  said  Lord  Gray  coldly. 

"  I  kiss  your  hands,  most  illustrious  :  but  I  do  not  sit  in  an 
enemy's  camp.  Ha,  my  friend  Zouch  !  How  has  your  Signoria 
fared  since  we  fought  side  by  side  at  Lepanto  ?  So  you  too  are 
here,  sitting  in  council  on  the  hanging  of  me." 

"What  is  your  errand,  sir?  Time  is  short,"  said  the  Lord 
Deputy. 

"  Corpo  di  Bacco  !  It  has  been  long  enough  all  the  morning, 
for  my  rascals  have  kept  me  and  my  friend  the  Colonel  Hercules 
(whom  you  know,  doubtless)  prisoners  in  our  tents  at  the  pike's 
point.  My  Lord  Deputy,  I  have  but  a  few  words.  I  shall  thank 
you  to  take  every  coldier  in  the  fort — Italian,  Spaniard,  and  Irish 
— and  hang  them  up  as  high  as  Haman,  for  a  set  of  mutinous 
cowards,  with  the  arch-traitor  San  Joseph©  at  their  head." 

"  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  your  offer,  sir,  and  shall  deliberate 
presently  as  to  whether  I  shall  not  accept  it." 


WESTWARD  HO  {  1 7  J 

"  But  as  for  us  captains,  really  your  Excellency  must  consider 
that  we  are  gentlemen  born,  and  give  us  either  buena  querra, 
as  the  Spaniards  say,  or  a  fair  chance  for  life  ;  and  so  to  my  busi- 
ness." 

"  Stay,  sir.  Answer  this  first.  Have  you  or  yours  any  com- 
mission 'to  show  either  from  the  King  of  Spain  or  any  other 
potentate  ?" 

"  Never  a  one  but  the  cause  of  Heaven  and  our  own  swords. 
And  with  them,  my  Lord,  we  are  ready  to  meet  anv  gentlemen 
of  your  camp,  man  to  man,  with  our  swords  only,  half-way  be- 
tween your  leaguer  and  ours  ;  and  I  doubt  not  that  your  Lord- 
ship will  see  fair  play.  Will  any  gentleman  accept  so  civil  an 
offer  ?  There  sits  a  tall  youth  in  that  corner  who  would  suit  me 
very  well.  Will  any  fit  my  gallant  comrades  with  half-an-hour*s 
punto  and  stoccado  }  " 

There  was  a  silence,  all  looking  at  the  Lord  Deputy,  whose 
eyes  were  kindling  in  a  very  ugly  way. 

•♦  No  answer  ?  Then  I  must  proceed  to  exhortation.  So  ! 
Will  that  be  sufficient  ?  " 

And  walking  composedly  across  the  tent,  the  fearless  ruffian 
quietly  stooped  down,  and  smote  Amyas  Leigh  full  in  the  face. 

Up  sprang  Amyas,  heedless  of  all  the  august  assembly,  and 
with  a  single  buffet  felled  him  to  the  earth. 

"  Excellent  !  "  said  he,  rising  unabashed.  "  I  can  always  trust 
my  instinct.  I  knew  the  moment  I  saw  him  that  he  was  a  cavalier 
worth  letting  blood.  Now,  sir,  your  sword  and  harness,  and  I 
am  at  your  service  outside  !  " 

The  solemn  and  sententious  Englishmen  were  altogether  taken 
aback  by  the  Italian's  impudence  ;  but  Zouch  settled  the  matter. 

"  Most  noble  Captain,  will  you  be  pleased  to  recollect  a  certain 
little  occurrence  at  Messina,  in  the  year  1575  ?  For  if  you  do  not, 
I  do  ;  and  beg  to  inform  this  gentleman  that  you  are  unworthy  of 
his  sword,  and  had  you,  unluckily  for  you,  been  an  Englishman, 
would  have  found  the  fashions  of  our  country  so  different  from 
your  own  that  you  would  have  been  then  hanged,  sir,  and  prob- 
ably may  be  so  still." 

The  Italian's  sword  flashed  out  in  a  moment :  but  Lord  Gray 
interfered. 

"  No  fighting  here,  gentlemen.  That  may  wait ;  and  what  is 
more,  shall  wait  till—  Strike  their  swords  down,  Raleigh,  Mack- 
worth  !  Strike  their  swords  down  !  Colonel  Sebastian,  you  will 
be  pleased  to  return  as  you  came,  in  safety,  having  lost  nothing, 
as  (I  frankly  tell  you)  you  have  gained  nothing,  by  your  wild  bear- 
ing here.     We  shall  proceed  to  deliberate  on  your  fate." 

"  I  trust,  my  Lord,"  said  Amyas,  "  that  you  will  spare  this  brag, 
gart's  life,  at  least  for  a  day  or  two.  For  in  spite  of  Captain 
Zouch's  warning,  I  must  have  to  do  with  him  yet,  or  my  cheek 
will  rise  up  in  judgment  against  me  at  the  last  day." 

"  Well  spoken,  lad,"  said  the  Colonel  as  he  swung  out.  "  So  ! 
worth  a  reprieve,  by  this  sword,  to  have  one  more  rapier-rattle 


i7i 


l^ESTlVA/iD  BO 


before  the  gallows  !  Then  I  take  back  no  further  answer,  my 
Lord  Deputy  ?  Not  even  our  swords,  our  virgin  blades,  Signor, 
the  soldier's  cherished  bride  ?  Shall  we  go  forth  weeping  widow- 
ers, and  leave  to  strange  embrace  the  lovely  steel  ? " 

"  None,  sir,  by  heavens  !  "  said  he,  waxing  wroth.  "  Do  you 
come  hither,  pirates  as  you  are,  to  dictate  terms  upon  a  foreign 
soil  ?  Is  it  not  enough  to  have  set  up  here  the  Spanish  flag,  and 
claimed  the  land  of  Ireland  as  the  Pope's  gift  to  the  Spaniard  ; 
violated  the  laws  of  nations,  and  the  solemn  treaties  of  princes, 
under  color  of  a  mad  superstition  ?  " 

"Superstition,  my  Lord?  Nothing  less.  Believe  a  philosopher 
who  has  not  said  a  pater  or  an  ave  for  seven  years  past  at  least. 
Quod  tango  credo,  is  my  motto  ;  and  though  I  am  bound  to 
say,  under  pain  of  the  Inquisition,  that  the  most  holy  Father  the 
Pope  has  given  this  land  of  Ireland  to  his  most  Catholic  Majesty 
the  King  of  Spain,  Queen  Elizabeth  having  forfeited  her  title  to  it 
by  heresy, — why,  my  Lord,  I  believe  it  as  little  as  you  do.  I  be- 
lieve that  Ireland  would  have  been  mine,  if  I  had  won  it  ;  I  be- 
lieve religiously  that  it  is  not  mine,  now  I  have  lost  it.  What  is, 
is,  and  a  fig  for  priests;  to-day  to  thee,  to  morrow  to  me.  Addio," 
— and  out  he  swung. 

"There  goes  a  most  gallant  rascal,"  said  the  Lord  Deputy. 

"And  a  most  rascally  gallant,"  said  Zouch,  "The  murder  of 
his  own  page,  of  which  I  gave  him  a  remembrancer,  is  among  the 
least  of  his  sins." 

"And  now.  Captain  Raleigh,"  said  Lord  Gray,  "as  you  have 
been  so  earnest  in  preaching  this  butchery,  I  have  a  right  to  ask 
none  but  you  to  practise  it." 

Raleigh  bit  his  lip,  and  replied  by  the  "  quip  courteous" — 

"  I  am  at  least  a  man,  my  Lord,  who  thinks  it  shame  to  allow 
others  to  do  that  which  I  dare  not  do  myself." 

Lord  Gray  might  probably  have  returned  "  the  countercheck 
quarrelsome,"  had  not  Mackworth  risen  ; — 

"  And  I,  my  Lord,  being  in  that  matter  at  least  one  of  Captain 
Raleigh's  kidney,  will  just  go  with  him  to  see  that  he  takes  no 
harm  by  being  bold  enough  to  carry  out  an  ugly  business,  and 
serving  these  rascals  as  their  countrymen  served  Mr.  Oxenham." 

"  I  bid  you  good-morning,  then,  gentlemen,  though  I  cannot  bid 
you  God  speed,"  said  Lord  Gray  ;  and  sitting  down  again,  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands,  and,  to  the  astonishment  of  all  bystanders, 
burst,  say  the  chroniclers,  into  tears. 

Amyas  followed  Raleigh  out.  The  latter  was  pale,  but  deters 
mined,  and  very  wroth  against  the  Deputy. 

'•Does  the  man  take  me  for  a  hangman,"  said  he,  "that  he 
speaks  to  me  thus?  But  such  is  the  way  of  the  great.  If  you 
neglect  your  duty,  they  haul  you  over  the  coals  ;  if  you  do  it,  you 
must  do  it  on  your  own  responsibility.  Farewell,  Amyas  ;  you 
will  not  shrink  from  me  as  a  butcher  when  I  return  ?  " 

"  God  forbid  !     But  how  will  you  do  it  ?  " 


WESTWARD  HO  !  1 73 

"  March  one  company  in,  and  drive  them  forth,  and  let  the  other 
cut  them  down  as  they  come  out. — Pah  ! " 

It  was  done.  Right  or  wrong,  it  was  done.  The  shriel<s  and 
curses  had  died  away,  and  the  P'ort  del  Oro  was  a  red  shambles, 
which  the  soldiers  were  trying  to  cover  from  the  sight  of  heaven 
and  earth,  by  dragging  the  bodies  into  the  ditch,  and  covering 
them  with  the  ruins  of  the  rampart;  while  the  Irish,  who  had  be- 
held from  the  woods  that  awful  warning,  fled  trembling  into  the 
deepest  recesses  of  the  forest.  It  was  done  ;  and  it  never  needed 
to  be  done  again.  The  hint  was  severe,  but  it  was  sufficient. 
Many  years  passed  before  a  Spaniard  set  foot  again  in  Ireland. 

The  Spanish  and  Italian  officers  were  spared,  and  Amyas  had 
Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto  duly  adjudged 
to  him,  as  his  prize  by  right  of  war.  He  was,  of  course,  ready 
enough  to  fight  Sebastian  of  Modena  :  but  Lord  Gray  forbade  the 
duel :  blood  enough  had  been  shed  already.  The  next  question 
was,  where  to  bestow  Don  Guzman  till  his  ransom  should  arrive  ; 
and  as  Amyas  could  not  well  deliver  the  gallant  Don  into  the  safe 
custody  of  Mrs.  Leigh  at  Burrough,  and  still  less  into  that  of  Frank 
at  Court,  he  was  fain  to  write  to  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  and  ask  his 
advice,  and  in  the  meanwhile  keep  the  Spaniard  with  him  upon 
parole,  which  he  frankly  gave, — saying  that  as  for  running  away, 
he  had  nowhere  to  run  to  ;  and  as  for  joining  the  Irish  he  had  no 
mine  to  turn  pig  ;  and  Amyas  found  him,  as  shall  be  hereafter 
told,  pleasant  company  enough.  But  one  morning  Raleigh  en- 
tered,— 

"  I  have  done  you  a  good  turn,  Leigh,  if  you  think  it  one.  I 
have  talked  St.  Leger  into  making  you  my  lieutenant,  and  giving 
you  the  custody  of  a  right  pleasant  hermitage — some  castle  Shack- 
atory  or  other  in  the  midst  of  a  big  bog,  where  time  will  run 
swift  and  smooth  with  you,  between  hunting  wild  Irish,  snaring 
snipes,  and  drinking  yourself  drunk  with  usquebaugh  over  a  turf 
fire." 

"  I'll  go,"  quoth  Amyas  ;  "  anything  for  work."  So  he  went 
and  took  possession  of  his  lieutenancy  and  his  black  robber  tower, 
and  there  passed  the  rest  of  the  winter,  fighting  or  hunting  all  day, 
and  chatting  and  reading  all  the  evening,  with  Senor  Don  Guz- 
man, who,  like  a  good  soldier  of  fortune,  made  himself  thoroughly 
at  home,  and  a  general  favorite  with  the  soldiers. 

At  first,  indeed,  his  Spanish  pride  and  stateliness,  and  Amyas's 
English  taciturnity,  kept  the  two  apart  somewhat  ;  but  they  soon 
began,  if  not  to  trust,  at  least  to  like  each  other  ;  and  Don  Guz- 
man told  Amyas,  bit  by  bit,  who  he  was,  of  what  an  ancient  house, 
and  of  what  a  poor  one  ;  and  laughed  over  the  very  small  chance 
of  his  ransom  being  raised,  and  the  certainty  that,  at  least,  it  could 
not  come  for  a  couple  of  years,  seeing  that  the  only  De  Soto  who 
had  a  penny  to  spare  was  a  fat  old  dean  at  St.  Yago  de  Leon,  in 
the  Caraccas,  at  which  place  Don  Guzman  had  been  born.  This 
of  course  led  to  much  talk  about  the  West  Indies,  and  the  Don 


174  WESTWARD  I/O! 

was  as  much  interested  to  find  that  Amyas  had  been  one  of  Drake's 
world-famous  crew,  as  Amyas  was  to  find  that  his  captive  was  the 
grandson  of  none  other  than  that  most  terrible  of  man-hunters, 
Don  Ferdinando  de  Soto,  the  conqueror  of  Florida,  of  whom  Amyas 
had  read  many  a  time  in  Las  Casas,  "  as  the  captain  of  tyrants, 
the  notoriousest  and  most  experimented  amongst  them  that  have 
done  the  most  hurts,  mischiefs,  and  destructions  in  many  realms." 
And  often  enough  his  blood  boiled,  and  he  had  much  ado  to  recol- 
lect that  the  speaker  was  his  guest,  as  Don  Guzman  chatted  away 
about  his  grandfather's  hunts,  of  innocent  women  and  children, 
murders  of  caciques  and  burnings  alive  of  guides,  " pour  eticour- 
ager  les  autres"  without,  seemingly,  the  least  feeling  that  the  vic- 
tims were  human  beings  or  subjects  for  human  pity  ;  anything,  in 
short,  but  heathen  dogs,  enemies  of  God,  servants  of  the  devil,  to 
be  used  by  the  Christian  when  he  needed,  and  when  not  needed 
killed  down  as  cumberers  of  the  ground.  But  Don  Guzman  was 
a  most  finished  gentleman  nevertheless  ;  and  told  many  a  good 
story  of  the  Indies,  and  told  it  well  ;  and  over  and  above  his 
stories,  he  had  among  his  baggage  two  books, — the  one  Antonio 
Galvano's  "Discoveries  of  the  World,"  a  mine  of  winter  evening 
amusement  to  Amyas  ;  and  the  other,  a  manuscript  book,  which, 
perhaps,  it  had  been  well  for  Amyas  had  he  never  seen.  For  it 
was  none  other  than  a  sort  of  rough  journal  which  Don  Guzman 
had  kept  as  a  lad,  when  he  went  down  with  the  Adelantado  Gon- 
zales Ximenes  de  Casada,  from  Peru  to  the  River  of  Amazons, 
to  look  for  the  golden  country  of  El  Dorado,  and  thecity  of  Manoa, 
which  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  White  Lake,  and  equals  or  sur- 
passes in  glory  even  the  palace  of  the  Inca  Huaynacapac  ;  "  all 
the  vessels  of  whose  house  and  kitchen  are  of  gold  and  silver,  and 
in  his  wardrobe  statues  of  gold  which  seemed  giants,  and  figures 
in  proportion  and  bigness  of  all  the  beasts,  birds,  trees,  and  herbs 
of  the  earth,  and  the  fishes  of  the  water  ;  and  ropes,  budgets, 
chests,  and  troughs  of  gold  :  yea,  and  a  garden  of  pleasure  in  an 
Island  near  Puna,  where  they  went  to  recreate  themselves  when 
they  would  take  the  air  of  the  sea,  which  had  all  kind  of  garden 
herbs,  flowers,  and  trees  of  gold  and  silver  of  an  invention  and 
magnificence  till  then  never  seen." 

Now  the  greater  part  of  this  treasure  (and  be  it  remembered 
that  these  wonders  were  hardly  exaggerated,  and  that  there  were 
many  men  alive  then  who  had  beheld  them,  as  they  had  worse 
things,  "with  their  corporal  and  mortal  eyes")  was  hidden  by 
the  Indians  when  Pizarro  conquered  Peru  and  slew  Atahuallpa, 
son  of  Huaynacapac  ;  at  whose  death,  it  was  said,  one  of  the 
Inca's  younger  brothers  fled  out  of  Peru,  and  taking  with  him 
a  great  army,  vanquished  all  that  tract  which  lieth  between  the 
great  Rivers  of  Amazons  and  Baraquan,  otherwise  called  Maranon 
and  Orenoque. 

There  he  sits  to  this  day,  beside  the  golden  lake,  in  the  golden 
city,  which  is  in  breadth  a  three  days*  journey,  covered,  he  and  his 
court,  with  gold  dust  from  head  to  foot,  waiting  for  the  fulfilmf!r4 


WESTWARD  HO!  1 75 

of  the  ancient  prophecy  which  was  written  in  the  temple  of  Caxa- 
marca,  where  his  ancestors  worshipped  of  old  ;  that  heroes 
shall  come  out  of  the  West,  and  lead  him  back  across  the  foi- 
ests  to  the  kingdom  of  Peru,  and  restore  him  to  the  glory  of  his 
forefathers. 

Golden  phantom  !  so  possible,  so  probable,  to  imaginations 
which  were  yet  reeling  before  the  actual  and  veritable  prodigies 
of  Peru,  Mexico,  and  the  East  Indies.  Golden  phantom  !  which 
has  cost  already  the  lives  of  thousands,  and  shall  yet  cost  more  ; 
from  Diego  de  Ordas,  and  Juan  Corteso,  and  many  another,  who 
went  forth  on  the  quest  by  the  Andes,  and  by  the  Orinoco,  and  by 
the  Amazons  ;  Antonio  Sedenno,  with  his  ghastly  caravan  of  man- 
acled Indians,  "  on  whose  dead  carcasses  the  tigers  being  fleshed, 
assaulted  the  Spaniards  ;  "  Augustine  Delgado,  who  •'  came  to  a 
cacique,  who  entertained  him  with  all  kindness,  and  gave  him  be- 
side much  gold  and  slaves,  three  nymphs  very  beautiful,  which 
bare  the  names  of  three  provinces,  Guanba,  Gotoguane,  and 
Maiarare.  To  requite  which  manifold  courtesies,  he  carried  off, 
not  only  all  the  gold,  but  all  the  Indians  he  could  seize,  and  took 
them  in  irons  to  Cubagua,  and  sold  them  for  slaves  ;  after  which, 
Delgado  was  shot  in  the  eye  by  an  Indian,  of  which  hurt  he  died  ;  " 
Pedro  d'Orsua,  who  found  the  cinnamon  forests  of  Loxas,  "  whom 
his  men  murdered,  and  afterwards  beheaded  Lady  Anes,  his  wife, 
who  forsook  not  her  lord  in  all  his  travels  unto  death,"  and  many 
another,  who  has  vanished  with  valiant  comrades  at  his  back  into 
the  green  gulfs  of  the  primaeval  forests  never  to  emerge  again. 
Golden  phantom  !  man-devouring,  whose  maw  is  never  satiate 
with  souls  of  heroes  ;  fatal  to  Spain,  more  fatal  still  to  England 
upon  that  shameful  day,  when  the  last  of  Elizabeth's  heroes  shall 
lay  down  his  head  upon  the  block,  nominally  for  having  believed 
what  all  around  him  believed  likewise  till  they  found  it  expedient 
to  deny  it  in  order  to  curry  favor  with  the  crowned  cur  who  be- 
trayed him,  really  because  he  alone  dared  to  make  one  last  protest 
in  behalf  of  liberty  and  Protestantism  against  the  incoming  night 
of  tyranny  and  superstition.  Little  thought  Amyas,  as  he  devoured 
the  pages  of  that  manuscript,  that  he  was  laying  a  snare  for  the 
life  of  the  man  whom,  next  to  Drake  and  Grenvile,  he  most 
admired  on  earth. 

But  Don  Guzman,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  to  have  an  instinct 
that  that  book  might  be  a  fatal  gift  to  his  captor  ;  for  one  day  ere 
Amyas  had  looked  into  it,  he  began  questioning  the  Don  about  El 
Dorado.  Whereon  Don  Guzman  replied  with  one  of  those  smiles 
of  his,  which  (as  Amyas  said  afterwards)  was  so  abominably 
like  a  sneer,  that  he  had  often  hard  work  to  keep  his  hands  off  the 
man — 

"  Ah  !  You  have  been  eating  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree  of  knowl- 
edge, Seizor  ?  Well  ;  if  you  have  any  ambition  to  follow  many 
another  brave  captain  to  the  pit,  I  know  no  shorter  or  easier  path 
than  is  contained  in  that  little  book." 

"I  have  never  opened  your  book  "  '^•lid  Amyas  ;  "  your  privaic 


J  75  IVES  TWA  A'D  HO  ! 

manuscripts  are  no  concern  of  mine  :  but  my  man  who  recovered 
your  baggage  read  part  of  it,  knowing  no  better  ;  and  now  you 
are  at  liberty  to  tell  me  as  little  as  you  like." 

The  "  man  "  it  should  be  said,  was  none  other  than  Salvation 
Yeo,  who  had  attached  himself  by  this  time  inseparably  to  Amyas, 
in  quality  of  body-guard  :  and,  as  was  common  enough  in  those 
days,  had  turned  soldier  for  the  nonce,  and  taken  under  his  patron- 
age two  or  three  rusty  bases  (swivels)  and  falconets  (four-pounders), 
which  grinned  harmlessly  enough  from  the  tower  top  across  the 
cheerful  expanse  of  bog. 

Amyas  once  asked  him,  how  he  reconciled  this  Irish  sojourn  with 
his  vow  to  find  his  little  maid  ?     Yeo  shook  his  head. 

•'  I  can't  tell,  sir,  but  there's  something  that  makes  me  always  to 
think  of  you  when  I  think  of  her  ;  and  that's  often  enough,  the 
Lord  knows.  Whether  it  is  that  I  ben't  to  find  the  dear  without 
your  help  ;  or  whether  it  is  your  pleasant  face  puts  me  in  mind  of 
hers  ;  or  what,  I  can't  tell  ;  but  don't  you  part  me  from  you,  sir, 
for  I'm  like  Ruth,  and  where  you  lodge  I  lodge  ;  and  where  you 
go  I  go  ;  and  where  you  die — though  I  shall  die  many  a  year  first 
— there  I'll  die,  I  hope  and  trust  ;  for  I  can't  abear  you  out  of  my 
sight  ;  and  that's  the  truth  thereof." 

So  Yeo  remained  with  Amyas,  while  Gary  went  elsewhere  with 
Sir  Warham  St.  Leger,  and  the  two  friends  met  seldom  for  many 
months  ;  so  that  Amyas's  only  companion  was  Don  Guzman,  who, 
as  he  grew  more  familiar,  and  more  careless  about  what  he  said 
and  did  in  his  captor's  presence,  often  puzzled  and  scandalized  him 
by  his  waywardness.  Fits  of  deep  melancholy  alternated  with 
bursts  of  Spanish  boastfulness,  utterly  astonishing  to  the  modest 
and  sober-minded  Englishman,  who  would  often  have  fancied  him 
inspired  by  usquebaugh,  had  he  not  had  ocular  proof  of  his  ex- 
treme abstemiousness. 

"  Miserable  ?"  said  he,  one  night  in  one  of  these  fits.  "And 
have  I  not  a  right  to  be  miserable  ? — Why  should  I  not  curse  the 
virgin  and  all  the  saints,  and  die  .''  I  have  not  a  iriend,  not  a 
ducat  on  earth  ;  not  even  a  sword — hell  and  the  furies  !  It  was  my 
all  :  the  only  bequest  I  ever  had  from  my  father,  and  I  lived  by  it 
and  earned  by  it.  Two  years  ago  I  had  as  pretty  a  sum  of  gold  as 
cavalier  could  wish — and  now  !  " — 

"  What  is  become  of  it,  then  ?  I  cannot  hear  that  our  men 
plundered  you  of  any." 

"  Your  men  ?  No,  Sefior  !  What  fifty  men  dared  not  have 
done,  one  woman  did  !  a  painted,  patched,  fucused,  periwigged, 
bolstered,  Char)-bdis,  cannibal,  Megcera,  Lamia  !  Why  did  I  ever 
go  near  that  cursed  Naples,  the  common  sewer  of  Europe  !  whose 
women,  I  believe,  would  be  swallowed  up  by  Vesuvius  to-morrov^^ 
if  it  were  not  that  Belphegor  is  afraid  of  their  making  the  pit  itselt 
too  hot  to  hold  him.  Well,  sir,  she  had  all  of  mine  and  more  ;  and 
when  all  was  gone  in  wine  and  dice,  woodcocks'  brains  and  orto- 
lans' tongues,  I  met  the  witch  walking  with  another  man.  I  had  a 
sword  and  a  dagger  ;  I  gave  him  the  first  (though  the  dog  foughi 


WESTWARD  HO  J  ry.; 

well  enough,  to  give  him  his  due),  and  her  the  second  ;  left  them 
lying  across  each  other,  and  fled  for  my  life  : — and  here  I  am  ! 
after  twenty  years  of  fighting,  from  the  Levant  to  the  Orellana— 
for  I  began  ere  I  had  a  hair  on  my  chin— and  this  is  the  end  !— No, 
it  is  not  !  I'll  have  that  El  Dorado  yet  !  the  Adelantadomade  Ber- 
reo,  when  he  gave  him  his  daughter,  swear  that  he  would  hunt  for 
it.  through  life  and  death.— We'll  see  who  finds  it  first,  he  or  I. 
He's  a  bungler  ;  Orsua  was  a  bungler — Pooh  !  Cortes  and 
Pizarro  ?  we'U  see  whether  there  are  not  as  good  Castilians  as 
they  left  still.  I  can  do  it,  Seiior.  I  know  a  track,  a  plan  ;  over  the 
Llanos  is  the  road  ;  and  I'll  be  Emperor  of  Manoa  yet— possess 
the  jewels  of  all  the  Incas  ;  and  gold,  gold  !  Pizarro  was  a  beggar 
to  what  I  will  be  !  " 

"  Conceive,  sir,"  he  broke  forth  during  another  of  these  pea- 
cock fits,  as  Amyas  and  he  were  riding  along  the  hill-side  ;  "con- 
ceive !  with  forty  chosen  cavaliers  (what  need  of  more  ?)  I  present 
myself  before  the  golden  king,  trembling  amid  his  myriad  guards 
at  the  new  miracle  of  the  mailed  centaurs  of  the  West  ;  and  with- 
out dismounting,  I  approach  his  throne,  lift  the  crucifix  which 
hangs  around  my  neck,  and  pressing  it  to  my  lips,  present  it  for 
the  adoration  of  the  idolater,  and  give  him  his  alternative  ;  that 
which  Gayferos  and  the  Cid,  my  ancestors,  offered  the  Soldan  and 
the  Moor — baptism  or  death  !  He  hesitates  ;  perhaps  smiles 
scornfully  upon  my  little  band  ;  I  answer  him  by  deeds,  as  Don 
Ferdinando,  my  illustrious  grandfather,  answered  Atahuallpa  at 
Peru,  in  sight  of  all  his  court  and  camp." 

"With  your  lance-point,  as  Gayferos  did  the  Soldan  ?  "  asked 
Amyas,  amused. 

"  No,  sir  ;  persuasion  first,  for  the  salvation  of  a  soul  is  at  stake. 
Not  with  the  lance-point,  but  the  spur,  sir,  thus  ! " — 

And  striking  his  heels  into  his  horse's  flanks,  he  darted  off  at 
full  speed. 

"  The  Spanish  traitor  !  "  shouted  Yeo.  "  He's  going  to  escape  ! 
Shall  we  shoot,  sir  }     Shall  we  shoot  ?  " 

-  "  For  Heaven's  sake,  no  ! "  said  Amyas,  looking  somewhat 
blank,  nevertheless,  for  he  much  doubted  whether  the  whole  was 
not  a  ruse  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniard,  and  he  knew  how  impos- 
sible it  was  for  his  fifteen  stone  of  flesh  to  give  chase  to  the 
Spaniard's  twelve.  But  he  was  soon  reassured  ;  the  Spaniard 
wheeled  round  towards  him,  and  began  to  put  the  rough  hackney- 
through  all  the  paces  of  the  manage  with  a  grace  and  skill  which 
won  applause  from  the  beholders. 

"  Thus  !  "  he  shouted,  waving  his  hand  to  Amyas,  between  his 
curvets  and  caracoles,  "  did  my  illustrious  grandfather  exhibit 
to  the  Paynim  emperor  the  prowess  of  a  Castilian  cavalier ! 
Thus  '.—and  thus  '.—and  thus,  at  last,  he  dashed  up  to  his  very 
feet,  as  I  to  yours,  and  bespattering  that  unbaptized  visage  with 
his  Christian  bridlefoam,  pulled  up  his  charger  on  his  haunches, 
thus !  " 

.  And  (as  was  to  be  expected  from  a  blown  Irish  garron  on  a 
peaty  Irish  hill-side)  down  went  the  hapless  hackney  on   his  tail. 


y-g  WESTWARD  HO! 

away  went  his  heels  a  yard  in  front  of  him,  and  ere  Don  Guzman 
could  "  avoid  his  selle,"  horse  and  man  rolled  over  into  a  neighbor- 
ing bog-hole. 

"  After  pride  comes  a  fall,"  quoth  Yeo  with  unmoved  visage  as 
he  lugged  him  out. 

"  And  what  would  you  do  with  the  Emperor  at  last  ?  "  asked 
Amyas  when  the  Don  had  been  scrubbed  somewhat  clean  with 
a  bunch  of  rushes.  "  Kill  him,  as  your  grandfather  did  Atahu- 
allpa  ?  " 

"My  grandfather,"  answered  the  Spaniard  indignantly,  "was 
one  of  those  who,  to  their  eternal  honor,  protested  to  the  last 
against  that  most  cruel  and  unknightly  massacre.  He  could  be 
terrible  to  the  heathen  ;  but  he  kept  his  plighted  word,  sir,  and 
taught  me  to  keep  mine,  as  you  have  seen  to-day." 

"  I  have,  Sefior,"  said  Amyas.  "You  might  have  given  us  the 
slip  easily  enough  just  now,  and  did  not.  Pardon  me,  if  I  have 
offended  you." 

The  Spaniard  (who,  after  all,  was  cross  principally  with  him- 
self and  the  "  unlucky  mare's  son,"  as  the  old  romances  have  it, 
which  had  played  him  so  scurvy  a  trick)  was  all  smiles  again 
forthwith  ;  and  Amyas,  as  they  chatted  on,  could  not  help  asking 
him  next — 

"  I  wonder  why  you  are  so  frank  about  your  own  intentions  to 
an  enemy  like  me,  who  will  surely  forestall  you  if  he  can." 

"  Sir,  a  Spaniard  needs  no  concealment,  and  fears  no  rivalry. 
He  is  a  soldier  of  the  Cross,  and  in  it  he  conquers,  like  Constan- 
tine  of  old.  Not  that  you  English  are  not  very  heroes  ;  but  you 
have  not,  sir,  and  you  cannot  have,  who  have  forsworn  our  Lady 
and  the  choir  of  saints,  the  same  divine  protection,  the  same 
celestial  mission,  which  enables  the  Catholic  cavalier  single-handed 
to  chase  a  thousand  Paynims." 

And  Don  Guzman  crossed  himself  devoutly,  and  muttered 
half-a-dozen  Ave  Marias  in  succession,  while  Amyas  rode  silently 
by  his  side,  utterly  puzzled  at  this  strange  compound  of  shrewd- 
ness with  fanaticism,  of  perfect  high-breeding  with  a  boastful- 
ness  which  in  an  Englishman  would  have  been  the  sure  mark 
of  vulgarity. 

Al  last  came  a  letter  from  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  complimenting 
Amyas  on  his  success  and  promotion,  bearing  a  long  and  courtly 
message  to  Don  Guzman  (whom  Grenvile  had  known  when  he 
was  in  the  Mediterranean,  at  the  battle  of  Lepanto),  and  offering 
to  receive  him  as  his  own  guest  at  Bideford,  till  his  ransom  should 
arrive  ;  a  proposition  which  the  Spaniard  (who  of  course  was 
getting  sufficiently  tired  of  the  Irish  bogs)  could  not  but  gladly 
accept  ;  and  one  of  Winter's  ships,  returning  to  England  in  the 
spring  of  1581,  delivered  duly  at  the  quay  of  Bideford  the  body  oi 
Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena.  Raleigh,  after  forming  for  that 
summer  one  of  the  triumvirate  by  which  Munster  was  governed 
after  Ormond's  departure,  at  last  got  his  wish  and  departed  for 
England  and  the  Court ;  and  Amyas  was  left  alone  with  the  snipes 
and  yelbw  mantles  for  two  more  weary  years. 


WESTWARD  HO!  Ijrj 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW    THE    MAYOR   OF   BIDEFORD    BAITED    HIS    HOOK    WITH    HIS 
OWN   FLESH. 

♦'  And  therewith  he  blent,  and  cried  ha  ! 
As  though  he  had  been  stricken  to  the  harte." 

Palamon  and  Arcite. 

So  it  befell  to  Chaucer's  knight  in  prison  ;  and  so  it  befell  also  to 
Don  Guzman  ;  and  it  befell  on  this  wise. 

He  settled  down  quietly  enough  at  Bideford  on  his  parole,  in 
better  quarters  than  he  had  occupied  for  many  a  day,  and  took 
things  as  they  came,  like  a  true  soldier  of  fortune  ;  till,  after  he 
had  been  with  Grenvile  hardly  a  month,  old  Salterne  the  Mayor 
came  to  supper. 

Now  Don  Guzman,  however  much  he  might  be  puzzled  at  first 
at  our  strange  English  ways  of  asking  burglars  and  such  low-bred 
folk  to  eat  and  drink  above  the  salt,  in  the  company  of  noble  per- 
sons, was  quite  gentleman  enough  to  "know  that  Richard  Grenvile 
was  gentleman  enough  to  do  only  what  was  correct,  and  accord- 
ing to  the  customs  and  proprieties.  So  after  shrugging  the  shoul- 
ders of  his  spirit,  he  submitted  to  eat  and  drink  at  the  same  board 
with  a  tradesman  who  sat  at  a  desk  and  made  up  ledgers,  and 
took  apprentices  ;  and  hearing  him  talk  with  Grenvile  neither  un- 
wisely nor  in  a  vulgar  fashion,  actually  before  the  evening  was  out 
condescended  to  exchange  words  with  him  himself.  Whereon  he 
found  him  a  very  prudent  and  courteous  person,  quite  aware  of 
the  Spaniard's  superior  rank,  and  making  him  feel  in  every  sen- 
tence that  he  was  aware  thereof;  and  yet  holding  his  own  opinion, 
and  asserting  his  own  rights  as  a  wise  elder  in  a  fashion  which 
the  Spaniard  had  only  seen  before  among  the  merchant  princes  of 
Genoa  and  Venice. 

At  the  end  of  supper,  Salterne  asked  Grenvile  to  do  his  humble 
roof  the  honor,  etc.,  etc.,  of  supping  with  him  the  next  evening, 
and  then  turning  to  the  Don,  said  quite  frankly,  that  he  knew  how 
great  a  condescension  it  would  be  on  the  part  of  a  nobleman  of 
Spain  to  sit  at  the  board  of  a  simple  merchant :  but  that  if  the 
Spaniard  deigned  to  do  him  such  a  favor,  he  would  find  that  the 
cheer  was  fit  enough  for  any  rank,  whatsoever  the  company  might 
be  ;  which  invitation  Don  Guzman,  being  on  the  whole  glad 
enough  of  anything  to  amuse  him,  graciously  condescended  to  ac- 
cept, and  gained  thereby  an  excellent  supper,  and,  if  he  had  chosen 
to  drink  it,  much  good  wine. 

Now  Mr.  Salterne  was,  of  course,  as  a  wise  merchant,  as  ready 


J  g^  WESTWARD  HO  t 

as  any  man  for  an  adventure  to  foreign  parts,  as  was  afterwards 
proved  by  his  great  exertions  in  the  settlement  of  Virginia  ;  and 
ne  was,  therefore,  equally  ready  to  rack  the  brains  of  any  guest 
whom  he  suspected  of  knowing  anything  concerning  strange 
lands  ;  and  so  he  thought  no  shame,  first  to  try  to  loose  his  guest's 
tongue  by  much  good  sack,  and  next  to  ask  him  prudent  and  well- 
concoctecl  questions  concerning  the  Spanish  Main,  Peru,  the  Mo« 
iuccas,  China,  the  Indies,  and  all  parts. 

The  first  of  which  schemes  failed  ;  for  the  Spaniard  was  as  ab- 
stemious as  any  monk,  and  drank  little  but  water  ;  the  second 
succeeded  not  over  well,  for  the  Spaniard  was  as  cunning  as  any 
fox,  and  answered  little  but  wind. 

In  the  midst  of  which  tongue-fence  in  came  the  Rose  of  Torridge, 
/ooking  as  beautiful  as  usual  ;  and  hearing  what  they  were  upon, 
added,  artlessly  enough,  her  questions  to  her  father's  :  to  her  Don 
Guzman  could'not  but  answer  ;  and  without  revealing  any  very 
important  commercial  secrets,  gave  his  host  and  his  host's 
daughter  a  very  amusing  evening. 

Now  little  Eros,  though  spirits  like  Frank  Leigh's  may  choose 
to  call  him  (as,  perhaps,  he  really  is  to  them)  the  eldest  of  the  gods, 
and  the  son  of  Jove  and  Venus,  yet  is  reported  by  other  equally 
good  authorities,  as  Burton  has  set  forth  in  his  "  Anatomy  of  Mel- 
ancholy," to  be  after  all  only  the  child  of  idleness  and  fulness  of 
bread.  To  which  scandalous  calumny  the  thoughts  of  Don  Guz- 
man's heart  gave  at  least  a  certain  color  ;  for  he  being  idle  (as  cap- 
tives needs  must  be),  and  also  full  of  bread  (for  Sir  Richard  kept  a 
very  good  table),  had  already  looked  round  for  mere  amusement's 
sake  after  some  one  with  whom  to  fall  in  love.  Lady  Grenvile,  as 
nearest,  was,  I  blush  to  say,  thought  of  first ;  but  the  Spaniard  was 
a  man  of  honor,  and  Sir  Richard  his  host;  so  he  put  away  from 
his  mind  (with  a  self-denial  on  which  he  plumed  himself  much)  the 
pleasure  of  a  chase  equally  exciting  to  his  pride  and  his  love  of 
danger.  As  for  the  sinfulness  of  the  said  chase,  he  of  course 
thought  no  more  of  that  than  other  Southern  Europeans  did  then, 
or  than  (I  blush  again  to  have  to  say  it)  the  English  did  afterwards 
in  the  days  of  the  Stuarts.  Nevertheless,  he  had  put  Lady  Gren- 
vile out  of  his  mind  ;  and  so  left  room  to  take  Rose  Salterne 
into  it,  not  with  any  distinct  purpose  of  wronging  her  :  but,  as 
I  said  before,  half  to  amuse  himself,  and  half,  too,  because  he  could 
not  help  it.  For  there  was  an  innocent  freshness  about  the  Rose 
of  Torridge,  fond  as  she  was  of  being  admired,  which  was  new  to 
him  and  most  attractive.  "  The  train  of  the  peacock,"  as  he  said 
to  himself,  "  and  yet  the  heart  of  the  dove,"  made  so  charming  a 
combination,  that  if  he  could  have  persuaded  her  to  love  no  one 
but  him,  perhaps  he  might  become  fool  enough  to  love  no  one  but 
her.  And  at  that  thought  he  was  seized  with  a  very  panic  of  pru- 
dence, and  resolved  to  keep  out  of  her  way  ;  and  yet  the  days  ran 
slowly,  and  Lady  Grenvile  when  at  home  was  stupid  enough  to 
talk  and  think  about  nothing  but  her  husband  ;  and  when  she 
went  to  Stow,  and  left  the  Don  alone  in  one  corner  of  the  great 


WESTWARD  HO!  iSi 

house  at  Bideford,  what  could  he  do  but  lounge  down  to  the  butt, 
gardens  to  show  off  his  fine  black  cloak  and  fine  black  feather, 
see  the  shooting,  have  a  game  or  two  of  rackets  with  the  young- 
sters, a  game  or  two  of  bowls  with  the  elders,  and  get  himself 
invited  home  to  supper  by  Mr.  Salterne  ? 

And  there,  of  course,  he  had  it  all  his  own  way,  and  ruled  the 
roast  (which  he  was  fond  enough  of  doing)  right  royally,  not  only 
on  account  of  his  rank,  but  because  he  had  something  to  say  worth 
hearing,  as  a  travelled  man.  For  those  times  were  the  day-dawn 
of  English  commerce  ;  and  not  a  merchant  in  Bideford,  or  in  all 
England,  but  had  his  imagination  all  on  fire  with  projects  of  dis- 
coveries, companies,  privileges,  patents,  and  settlements  ;  with 
gallant  rivalry  of  the  brave  adventures  of  Sir  Edward  Osborne  and 
is  new  London  Company  of  Turkey  Merchants  ;  with  the  privi- 
leges just  granted  by  the  Sultan  Murad  Khan  to  the  English  ;  with 
the  worthy  Levant  voyages  of  Roger  Bodenham  in  the  great  bark 
Aucher,  and  of  John  Fox,  and  Lawrence  Aldersey,  and  John  Rule  ; 
and  with  hopes  from  the  vast  door  for  Mediterranean  trade,  which 
the  crushing  of  the  Venetian  power  at  Famagusta  in  Cyprus,  and 
the  alliance  made  between  Elizabeth  and  the  Grand  Turk,  had  just 
thrown  open.  So  not  a  word  could  fall  from  the  Spaniard  about 
the  Mediterranean  but  took  root  at  once  in  right  fertile  soil.  Be- 
sides, Master  Edmund  Hogan  had  been  on  a  successful  embassy 
to  the  Emperor  of  Morocco  ;  John  Hawkins  and  George  Fenner 
had  been  to  Guinea  (and  with  the  latter  Mr.  Walter  Wren,  a  Bide- 
ford man),  and  had  traded  there  for  musk  and  civet,  gold  and 
Tain  ;  and  African  news  was  becoming  almost  as  valuable  as  West 
ndian.  Moreover,  but  two  months  before  had  gone  from  London 
Captain  Hare  in  the  bark  Minion,  for  Brazil,  and  a  company  of 
adventurers  with  him,  with  Sheffield  hardware,  and  "  Devonshire 
and  Northern  kersies,"  hollands  and  "Manchester  cottons,"  for 
there  was  a  great  opening  for  English  goods  by  the  help  of  one 
John  Whithall,  who  had  married  a  Spanish  heiress,  and  had  an 
ingenio  and  slaves  in  Santos.  (Don't  smile,  reader,  or  despise  the 
day  of  small  things,  and  those  who  sowed  the  seed  whereof  you 
reap  the  mighty  harvest.)  In  the  meanwhile,  Drake  had  proved 
not  merely  the  possibility  of  plundering  the  American  coasts,  but 
of  establishing  an  East  Indian  trade  ;  Frobisher  and  Davis,  worthy 
"orefathers  of  our  Parrys  and  Franklins,  had  begun  to  bore  their 
'ay  upward  through  the  Northern  ice,  in  searcli  of  a  passage  to 
"hina  which  should  avoid  the  dangers  of  the  Spanish  seas  ;  and 
Anthony  Jenkinson,  not  the  least  of  English  travellers,  had,  in  six- 
ind-twentv  years  of  travel  in  behalf  of  the  Muscovite  Company, 
penetratea  into  not  merely  Russia  and  the  Levant,  but  Persia  and 
Armenia,  Bokhara,  Tartary,  Siberia,  and  those  waste  Arctic  shores 
where,  thirty  years  before,  the  brave  Sir  Hugh  Willoughby, 

**  In  Arzina  caught, 
Perished  with  all  his  crew." 


f, 


l82 


\VESTW\4RD  HO  ! 


Everywhere  EnglisVi  commerce,  under  the  genial  sunshine  ot 
Elizabeth's  wise  rule,  was  spreading  and  taking  root ;  and  as  Don 
Guzman  talked  with  his  new  friends,  he  soon  saw  (for  he  was  shrewd 
enough)  that  they  belonged  to  a  race  which  must  be  exterminated 
if  Spain  intended  to  become  (as  she  did  intend)  the  mistress  of  the 
world  ;  and  that  it  was  not  enough  for  Spain  to  have  seized  in  the 
Pope's  name  the  whole  new  world,  and  claimed  the  exclusive 
right  to  sail  the  seas  of  America  ;  not  enough  to  have  crushed 
the  Hollanders ;  not  enough  to  have  degraded  the  Venetians 
into  her  bankers,  and  the  Genoese  into  ner  mercenaries  ;  not 
enough  to  have  incorporated  into  herself,  with  the  kingdom  ot 
Portugal,  the  whole  East  Indian  trade  of  Portugal,  while  these 
fierce  islanders  remained  to  assert,  with  cunnmg  policy  and 
texts  of  Scripture,  and,  if  they  failed,  with  sharp  snot  and  cold 
steel,  free  seas  and  free  trade  for  all  the  nations  upon  earth.  He 
saw  it,  and  his  countrymen  saw  it  too  :  and  therefore  the  Spanish 
Armada  came  :  but  of  that  hereafter.  And  Don  Guzman  knev/ 
also,  by  hard  experience,  that  these  same  islanders,  who  sat  in 
Salterne's  parlor,  talking  broad  Devon  through  their  noses,  were 
no  mere  counters  of  money  and  hucksters  of  goods  :  but  men  who. 
though  they  thoroughly  hated  fighting,  and  loved  making  money 
instead,  could  fight,  upon  occasion,  after  a  very  dogged  and  ter- 
rible fashion,  as  well  as  the  bluest  blood  in  Spain  ;  and  who  sent 
out  their  merchant  ships  armed  up  to  the  teeth,  and  filled  with 
men  who  had  been  trained  from  childhood  to  use  those  arms,  and 
had  orders  to  use  them  v.'ithout  mercy  if  either  Spaniard,  Portugal, 
or  other  created  being  dared  to  stop  their  money-making.  And 
one  evening  he  waxed  quite  mad  when,  after  having  civilly  enough 
hinted  that  if  Englishmen  came  where  they  had  no  right  to  come, 
they  might  find  themselves  sent  back  again,  he  was  answered  by  a 
volley  of — 

"  We'll  see  that,  sir." 

"  Depends  on  v/ho  says  '  No  right.'" 

"  You  found  might  right,"  said  another,  "  when  you  claimed 
the  Indian  seas  ;  we  might  find  right  might  when  we  try  them." 

"  Try  them,  then,  gentlemen,  by  all  means,  if  it  shall  so  please 
your  worships  ;  and  find  the  sacred  flag  of  Spain  as  invincible  as 
ever  was  the  Roman  Eagle." 

"  We  have,  sir.     Did  you  ever  hear  of  Francis  Drake  ?  " 

•'  Or  ot  George  Fenner  and  the  Portugals  at  the  Azores,  one 
against  seven  ?  " 

"  Or  of  John  Hawkins,  at  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa  ?  " 

"  You  are  insolent  burghers,"  said  Don  Guzman,  and  rose 
to  go. 

"  Sir,"  said  old  Salterne,  "  as  you  say,  we  are  burghers  and  plain 
men,  and  some  of  us  have  forgotten  ourselves  a  little,  perhaps  ; 
we  must  beg  you  to  forgive  our  want  of  manners,  and  to  put  it 
down  to  the  strength  of  my  wine  ;  for  insolent  we  never  meant  to 
be,  especially  to  a  noble  gentleman  and  a  foreigner." 

But  the  Don  would  not  be  pacified  ;  and  walked  out,  calling 


WESTWARD  110  !  1S3, 

himself  an  ass  and  a  blinkard  for  having  demeaned  himself  to  such 
a  company,  forgetting  that  he  had  brought  it  on  himself. 

Salterne  (prompted  by  the  great  devil  Mammon)  came  up  to  him 
next  day,  and  begged  pardon  again  ;  promising,  moreover,  that 
none  of  those  who  nad  been  so  rude  should  be  henceforth  asked  to 
meet  him,  if  he  would  deign  to  honor  his  house  once  more.  And 
the  Don  actually  was  appeased,  and  went  there  the  very  next 
evening  sneering  at  himself  the  whole  time  for  going. 

"  Fool  that  I  am  !  that  girl  has  bewitched  me,  I  believe.  Go  I 
must,  and  eat  my  share  of  dirt,  for  her  sake." 

So  he  went ;  and  cunningly  enough,  hinted  to  old  Salterne  that 
he  had  taken  such  a  fancy  to  him,  and  felt  so  bound  by  his  courtesy 
and  hospitality,  that  he  might  not  object  to  tell  him  things  which 
he  would  not  mention  to  every  one  ;  for  that  the  Spaniards  were 
not  jealous  of  single  traders,  but  of  any  general  attempt  to  deprive 
them  of  their  hard-earned  wealth  :  that,  however,  in  the  mean- 
while, there  were  plenty  of  opportunities  for  one  man  here  and 
there  to  enrich  himself,  etc. 

Old  Salterne,  shrewd  as  he  was,  had  his  weak  point,  and  the 
Spaniard  had  touched  it ;  and  delighted  at  this  opportunity  of 
learning  the  mysteries  of  the  Spanish  monopoly,  he  often  actually 
set  Rose  on  to  draw  out  the  Don,  without  a  fear  (so  blind  does 
money  make  men)  lest  she  might  be  herself  drawn  in.  For,  first, 
he  held  it  as  impossible  that  she  would  think  of  marrying  a  Popish 
Spaniard  as  of  marrying  the  man  in  the  moon  ;  and,  next,  as  im- 
possible that  he  would  think  of  marrying  a  burgher's  daughter  as 
of  marrying  a  negress  ;  and  trusted  that  the  religion  of  the  one,  and 
the  family  pride  of  the  other,  would  keep  them  as  separate  as  beings 
of  two  different  species.  And  as  for  love  without  marriage,  if 
such  a  possibility  ever  crossed  him,  the  thought  was  rendered  ab- 
surd ;  on  Rose's  part  by  her  virtue,  on  which  the  old  man  (and 
rightly)  would  have  staked  every  farthing  he  had  on  earth  ;  and 
on  the  Don's  part,  by  a  certain  human  fondness  for  the  continuity 
of  the  carotid  artery  and  the  parts  adjoining,  for  which  (and  that 
not  altogether  justly,  seeing  that  Don  Guzman  cared  as  little  for 
his  own  life  as  he  did  for  his  neighbor's)  Mr.  Salterne  gave  him 
credit.  And  so  it  came  to  pass,  that  for  weeks  and  months  the 
merchant's  house  w^as  the  Don's  favorite  haunt,  and  he  saw  the 
Rose  of  Torridge  daily,  and  the  Rose  of  Torridge  heard  him. 

And  as  for  her,  poor  child,  she  had  never  seen  such  a  man.  He 
had,  or  seemed  to  have,  all  the  high-bred  grace  of  Frank,  and  yet 
he  was  cast  in  a  manlier  mould  ;  he  had  just  enough  of  his  nation's 
proud  self-assertion  to  make  a  woman  bow  before  him  as  before 
a  superior,  and  yet  tact  enough  to  let  it  very  seldom  degenerate  in- 
to that  boastfulness  of  which  the  Spaniards  were  then  so  often  and 
so  justly  accused.  He  had  marvels  to  tell  by  flood  and  field  as  many 
and  more  than  Amyas  ;  and  he  told  them  v.-ith  a  grace  and  an  elo- 
quence of  which  modest,  simple,  old  Amyas  possessed  nothing. 
Besides,  he  was  on  the  spot,  and  the  Leighs  were  not,  nor  indeed 


jg^  IVESJ'IVARD  NO  ! 

were  any  of  her  old  lovers  ;  and  what  could  she  do  but  amus« 
herself  with  the  only  person  who  came  to  hand  ? 

So  thought,  in  time,  more  ladies  than  she  ;  for  the  country,  the 
north  of  it  at  least,  was  all  but  bare  just  then  of  young  gallants, 
what  with  the  Netherland  wars  and  the  Irish  wars  ;  and  the  Spaniard 
became  soon  welcome  at  every  house  for  many  a  mile  round,  and 
made  use  of  his  welcome  so  freely,  and  received  so  much  unwonted 
attention  from  fair  dames,  that  his  head  might  have  been  a  little 
turned,  and  Rose  Salterne  have  thereby  escaped,  had  not  Sir 
Richard  delicately  given  him  to  understand  that  in  spite  of  the 
free  and  easy  manners  of  English  ladies,  brothers  were  just  as 
jealous,  and  ladies'  honors  at  least  as  inexpugnable,  as  in  the  land 
ofdemureness  and  Duennas.  Don  Guzman  took  the  hint  well 
enough,  and  kept  on  good  terms  with  the  country  gentlemen  is 
with  their  daughters  ;  and  to  tell  the  truth,  the  cunning  soldier  ot 
fortune  found  his  account  in  being  intimate  with  all  the  ladies  he 
could,  in  order  to  prevent  old  Salterne  from  fancying  that  he  had 
any  peculiar  predilection  for  Mistress  Rose. 

Nevertheless,  Mr.  Salterne's  parlor  being  nearest  to  him,  still 
remained  his  most  common  haunt ;  where,  while  he  discoursed  for 
hours  about 

"  Antres  vast  and  deserts  idle, 
And  of  the  cannibals  that  each  other  eat. 
Of  Anthropophagi,  and  men  whose  heads 
Do  grow  beneath  their  shoulders," 

to  the  boundless  satisfaction  of  poor  Rose's  fancy,  he  took  care  to 
season  his  discourse  with  scraps  of  mercantile  information,  which 
kept  the  old  merchant  always  expectant  and  hankering  for  more, 
and  made  it  worth  his  while  to  ask  the  Spaniard  in  again  and 
again. 

And  his  stories,  certainly,  were  worth  hearing.  He  seemed  to 
have  been  everywhere,  and  to  have  seen  everything  :  born  in  Peru, 
and  sent  home  to  Spain  at  ten  years  old  ;  brought  up  in  Italy  ;  a 
soldier  in  the  Levant ;  an  adventurer  to  the  East  Indies  ;  again  in 
America,  first  in  the  islands,  and  then  in  Mexico.  Then  back 
again  to  Spain,  and  thence  to  Rome,  and  thence  to  Ireland.  Ship- 
VvTCcked  ;  captive  among  savages  ;  looking  down  the  craters  of 
volcanoes ;  hanging  about  all  the  courts  of  Europe  ;  fighting 
Turks,  Indians,  lions,  elephants,  alligators,  and  what  not  ?  At 
five-and-thirty  he  had  seen  enough  for  three  lives,  and  knew  how 
to  make  the  best  of  what  he  had  seen. 

He  had  shared,  as  a  lad,  in  the  horrors  of  the  memorable  siege 
of  Famagusta,  and  had  escaped,  he  hardly  Knew  himself  how,  from 
the  hands  of  the  victorious  Turks,  and  from  the  certainty  (if  he 
escaped  being  flayed  alive  or  impaled,  as  most  of  the  captive  offi- 
cers were)  of  ending  his  life  as  a  Janissary  at  the  Sultan's  colirt. 
He  had  been  at  the  Battle  of  the  Three  Kings  ;  had  seen  Stukely 
borne  down  by  a  hundred  lances,  unconquered  even  in  death  ; 
and  had  held  upon  his  knt-e  the  head  of  the  dying  King  of 
Portup-al. 


WESTWARD  HO!  l8§l 

And  now,  as  he  said  to  Rose  one  evening,  what  had  he  left  on 
earth,  but  a  heart  trampled  as  hard  as  the  pavement?  Whom, 
had  he  to  love  ?  Who  loved  him  ?  He  had  nothing  for  which  to 
live  but  fame  :  and  even  that  was  denied  to  him,  a  prisoner  in  a 
foreign  land. 

••  Had  he  no  kindred,  then  ?  "  asked  pitying  Rose. 

"  My  two  sisters  are  in  a  convent ;— they  had  neither  money  nor 
beauty  ;  so  they  are  dead  to  me.  My  brother  is  a  Jesuit,  so  he  is 
dead  to  me.  My  father  fell  by  the  hands  of  Indians  in  Mexico  ; 
my  mother,  a  penniless  widow,  is  companion,  duenna — whatsoever 
they  may  choose  to  call  it — carrying  fans  and  lap-dogs  for  some 
princess  or  other  there  in  Seville,  of  no  better  blood  than  herself; 
and'  I— devil  !  I  have  lost  even  my  sword— and  so  fares  the  house 
of  De  Soto." 

Don  Guzman,  of  course,  intended  to  be  pitied,  and  pitied  he  was 
accordingly.  And  then  he  would  turn  the  conversation,  and  begin 
telling  Italian  stories,  after  the  Italian  fashion,  according  to  his 
auditory  :  the  pathetic  ones  when  Rose  was  present,  the  racy  ones 
when  she  was  absent  ;  so  that  Rose  had  wept  over  the  sorrows  of 
Juliet  and  Desdemona,  and  over  many  another  moving  tale,  long 
before  they  were  ever  enacted  on  an  English  stage,  and  the  ribs  of 
the  Bideford  worthies  had  shaken  to  many  a  jest  which  Cinthio 
and  Bandello's  ghosts  must  come  and  make  for  themselves  over 
again  if  they  wish  them  to  be  remembered,  for  I  shall  lend  them' 
no  shove  toward  immortality. 

And  so  on,  and  so  on.  What  need  of  more  words  ?  Before  a 
year  was  out,  Rose  Salterne  was  far  more  in  love  with  Don  Guz- 
man than  he  with  her  ;  and  both  suspected  each  other's  mind, 
though  neither  hinted  at  the  truth  ;  she  from  fear,  and  he,  to  tell 
the  truth,  from  sheer  Spanish  pride  of  blood.  For  he  soon  began 
to  find  out  that  he  must  compromise  that  blood  by  marrying 
the  heretic  burgher's  daughter,  or  all  his  labor  would  be  thrown 
away. 

He  had  seen  with  much  astonishment,  and  then  practiced  with 
much  pleasure,  that  graceful  old  English  fashion  of  saluting  every 
lady  on  the  cheek  at  meeting,  which  (like  the  old  Dutch  fashion  of 
asking  young  ladies  out  to  feasts  without  their  mothers)  used  to 
give  such  cause  of  brutal  calumny  and  scandal  to  the  coarse  minds 
of  Romish  visitors  from  the  Continent  ;  and  he  had  seen,  too, 
fuming  with  jealous  rage,  more  than  one  Bideford  burgher,  red- 
olent of  onions,  profane  in  that  way  the  velvet  cheek  of  Rose 
Salterne. 

So,  one  day,  he  offered  his  salute  in  like  wise  ;  but  he  did  it 
when  she  was  alone  ;  for  something  within  (perhaps  a  guilty  con- 
science)  whispered  that  it  might  be  hardly  politic  to  make  the 
proffer  in  her  father's  presence  :  however,  to  his  astonishment,  he 
received  a  prompt  though  quiet  rebuff. 

"  No,  sir  ;  you  should  know  that  my  cheek  is  not  for  you." 

"Why,"  said  he,  stifling  his  anger,  "it  seems  free  enough  to 
every  counter-jumper  in  the  town  !  " 


J  36  WESTWARD  JJO  ! 

Was  it  love,  or  simple  innocence,  which  made  her  answer  apolo. 
getically  ? 

"  True,  Don  Guzman  ;  but  they  are  my  equals." 

"And  I?" 

"  You  are  a  nobleman,  sir  ;  and  should  recollect  that  you  are 
one." 

"  Well,"  said  he,  forcing  a  sneer,  "  it  is  a  strange  taste  to  prefer 
the  shopkeeper  !  " 

"  Prefer  .'* "  said  she,  forcing  a  laugh  in  her  turn  ;  "  it  is  a  mere 
form  among  us.     They  are  nothing  to  me,  I  can  tell  you." 

"  And  I,  then,  less  than  nothing  ?  " 

Rose  turned  very  red  ;  but  she  had  nerve  to  answer — 

"  And  why  should  you  be  anything  to  me  ?  You  have  conde- 
scended too  much,  sir,  already  to  us,  in  giving  us  many  a — many  a 
pleasant  evening.  You  must  condescend  no  further.  You  wrong 
yourself,  sir,  and  me  too.  No,  sir  ;  not  a  step  nearer  ! — I  will  not  ! 
A  salute  between  equals  means  nothing  :  but  between  you  and  me 
— I  vow,  sir,  if  you  do  not  leave  me  this  moment,  I  will  complain 
to  my  father." 

"  Do  so,  madam  !  I  care  as  little  for  your  father's  anger,  as  you 
for  my  misery." 

"  Cruel  !  "  cried  Rose,  trembling  from  head  to  foot. 

"  I  love  you,  madam  !  "  cried  he,  throwing  himself  at  her  feet, 
*•  I  adore  you  !  Never  mention  differences  of  rank  to  me  more  ; 
for  I  have  forgotten  them  ;  forgotten  all  but  love,  all  but  you, 
madam  !  My  light,  my  lodestar,  my  princess,  my  goddess  !  You 
see  where  my  pride  is  gone  ;  remember  I  plead  as  a  suppliant,  a 
beggar — though  one  who  may  be  one  day  a  prince,  a  king  !  ay, 
and  a  prince  now,  a  very  Lucifer  of  pride  to  all  except  to  you  ;  to 
you  a  wretch  who  grovels  at  your  feet,  and  cries,  '  Have  mercy 
on  me,  on  my  loneliness,  my  homelessness,  my  friendlessness.' 
Ah,  Rose  (madam  I  should  have  said,  forgive  the  madness  of  my 
passion),  you  know  not  the  heart  which  you  break.  Cold  North- 
erns, you  little  dream  how  a  Spaniard  can  love.  Love  !  Worship, 
rather  ;  as  I  worship  you,  madam  ;  as  I  bless  the  captivity  which 
brought  me  the  sight  of  you,  and  the  ruin  which  first  made  me 
rich.  Is  it  possible.  Saints  and  Virgin  !  do  my  own  tears  deceive 
my  eyes,  or  are  there  tears,  too,  in  those  radiant  orbs  1 " 

"  Go,  sir  !  "  cried  poor  Rose,  recovering  herself  suddenly  ;  "  and 
let  me  never  see  you  more."  And,  as  a  last  chance  for  life,  she 
darted  out  of  the  room. 

"  Your  slave  obeys  you,  madam,  and  kisses  your  hands  and  feet 
for  ever  and  a  day,"  said  the  cunning  Spaniard,  and  drawing  him- 
self up,  walked  serenely  out  of  the  house  ;  while  she,  poor  fool, 
peeped  after  him  out  of  her  window  upstairs,  and  her  heart  sank 
within  her  as  she  watched  his  jaunty  and  careless  air. 

How  much  of  that  rhapsody  of  his  was  honest,  how  much  pre- 
meditated, I  cannot  tell:  though  she,  poor  child,  began  to  fancy 
that  it  was  all  a  set  speech,  when  she  found  that  he  had  really 
taken  her  at  her  word,  and   set  foot  no   more  within   her  father's 


WES  TWA  KD  no  I  187 

house.  So  she  reproached  herself  for  the  cruelest  of  women  ; 
settled  that  if  he  died,  she  would  be  his  murderess  ;  watched  for 
him  to  pass  at  the  window,  in  hopes  that  he  might  look  up,  and 
then  hid  herself  in  terror  the  moment  he  appeared  round  the 
corner  ;  and  so  forth,  and  so  forth  :— one  love-making  is  very  like 
another,  and  has  been  so,  I  suppose,  since  that  first  blessed  mar- 
riage in  Paradise,  when  Adam  and  Eve  made  no  love  at  all,  but 
found  it  ready  made  for  them  from  heaven  ;  and  really  it  is  fid- 
dling while  Rome  is  burning,  to  spend  more  pages  over  the  sorrows 
of  poor  little  Rose  Salterne,  while  the  destinies  of  Europe  are  hang- 
ing on.the  marriage  between  Elizabeth  and  Anjou  :  and  Sir  Humph- 
rey Gilbert  is  stirring  heaven  and  earth,  and  Devonshire,  of  course, 
as  the  most  important  portion  of  the  said  earth,  to  carry  out  his 
dormant  patent,  which  will  give  to  England  in  due  time  (we  are 
not  jesting  now)  Newfoundland,  Nova  Scotia,  and  Canada,  and 
the  Northern  States  ;  and  to  Humphrey  Gilbert  himself  something 
better  than  a  new  world,  namely  another  world,  and  a  crown  of 
glory  therein  which  never  fades  away. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

HOW  EUSTACE  LEIGH   MET  THE    POPE'S  LEGATE. 

"  Misguided,  rash,  intruding  fool,  farewell ! 
Thou  see'st  to  be  too  busy  is  some  danger." 

Hatnkt. 

It  is  the  spring  of  1582-3.  The  gray  March  skies  are  curdling 
hard  and  high  above  black  mountain  peaks.  The  keen  March 
wind  is  sweeping  harsh  and  dry  across  a  dreary  sheet  of  bog,  still 
red  and  yellow  with  the  stains  of  winter  frost.  One  brown  knoll 
alone  breaks  the  waste,  and  on  it  a  few  leafless  wind-clipt  oaks 
stretch  their  moss-grown  arms,  like  giant  hairy  spiders,  above  a 
desolate  pool  which  crisps  and  shivers  in  the  biting  breeze,  while 
from  beside  its  brink  rises  a  mournful  cry,  and  sweeps  down,  faint 
and  fitful,  amid  the  howling  of  the  wind. 

Along  the  brink  of  the  bog,  picking  their  road  among  crum- 
bling rocks  and  green  spongy  springs,  a  company  of  English  soldiers 
are  pushing  fast,  clad  cap-^-pi^  in  helmet  and  quilted  jerkin,  with 
arquebus  on  shoulder,  and  pikes  trailing  behind  them  ;  stern  stead- 
fast men,  who,  two  years  since,  were  working  the  guns  at  Smer 
wick  fort,  and  have  since  then  seen  many  a  bloody  fray,  and  shall 
see  more  before  they  die.  Two  captains  ride  before  them  on 
shaggy  ponies,  the  taller  in  armor,  stained  and  rusted  with  many 
a  storm  and  fray,  the  other  in  brilliant  inlaid  cuirass  and  helmet, 
gaudy  sash  and  plume,  and  sword  hilt  glittering  with  gold,  a 
quaint  contrast  enough  to  the  meagre  garron  which  carries  him 
and  his  finery.  .  Beside  them,  secured  by  a  cord  which  a  pikeraan 


,  38  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

has  fastened  to  his  own  wrist,  trots  a  bare-legged  Irish  kerne, 
whose  only  clothing  is  his  ragged  yellow  mantle,  and  the  unkempt 
"  glib  "  of  hair,  through  which  his  eyes  peer  out,  right  and  left,  in 
mingled  fear  and  sullenness.  He  is  the  guide  of  the  company,  in 
their  hunt  after  the  rebel  Baltinglas  ;  and  woe  to  him  if  he  play 
them  false. 

"  A  pleasant  country,  truly,  Captain  Raleigh."  says  the  dingy 
officer  to  the  gay  one.  "  I  wonder  how,  having  once  escaped  from 
it  to  Whitehall,  you  have  the  courage  to  come  back  and  spoil  that 
gay  suit  with  bog-water  and  mud." 

"  A  very  pleasant  country-,  my  friend  Amyas  ;  what  you  say  in 
jest,  I  say  in  earnest." 

"  Hillo  !  Our  tastes  have  changed  places.  I  am  sick  of  it 
already,  as  you  foretold.  Would  Heaven  that  I  could  hear  of 
some  adventure  Westward-ho  !  and  find  these  big  bones  swinging 
in  a  hammock  once  more.  Pray  what  has  made  you  so  suddenly 
in  love  with  bog  and  rock,  that  you  come  back  to  tramp  them  with 
us  ?  I  thought  you  had  spied  out  the  nakedness  of  the  land  long 
ago." 

"  Bog  and  rock  ?  Nakedness  of  the  land  ?  What  is  needed 
here  but  prudence  and  skill,  justice  and  law  ?  This  soil,  see,  is  fat 
enough,  if  men  were  here  totill  it.  These  rocks — who  knows  what 
minerals  they  may  hold  1  I  hear  of  gold  and  jewels  found  already 
in  divers  parts  ;  and  Daniel,  my  brother  Humphrey's  German  as- 
sayer,  assures  me  that  these  rocks  are  of  the  very  same  kind  as  those 
which  yield  the  silver  in  Peru.  Tut,  man  !  if  her  gracious  Majesty 
would  but  bestow  on  me  some  few  square  miles  of  this  same  wilder- 
ness, in  seven  years'  time  I  would  make  it  blossom  like  the  rose, 
by  God's  good  help." 

"  Humph  !  I  should  be  more  inclined  to  stay  here,  then." 

"So  you  shall,  and  be  my  agent,  if  you  will,  to  get  in  my  mine- 
rents  and  my  corn-rents,  and  my  fishery-rents,  eh  ?  Could  you 
keep  accounts,  old  knight  of  the  bear's-paw  ?  " 

"  Well  enough  for  such  short  reckonings  as  yours  would  be,  on 
the  profit  side  at  least.  No,  no — I'd  sooner  carry  lime  all  my  days 
from  Cauldy  to  Bideford,  than  pass  another  twelvemonth  in  the 
land  of  Ire,  among  the  children  of  wrath.  There  is  a  curse  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth,  I  believe." 

"  There  is  no  curse  upon  it,  save  the  old  one  of  man's  sin — 
'  Thorns  and  thistles  it  shall  bring  forth  to  thee.'  But  if  you  root 
up  the  thorns  and  thistles,  Amyas,  I  know  no  fiend  who  can  pre- 
vent your  growing  wheat  instead  ;  and  if  you  till  the  ground  like 
a  man,  you  plough  and  harrow  away  nature's  curse,  and  other 
fables  of  the  schoolmen  beside,"  added  he,  in  that  daring  fashion 
which  afterwards  obtained  for  him  (and  never  did  good  Christian 
less  deserve  it)  the  imputation  of  Atheism. 

"It  is  sword  and  bullet,  I  think,  that  are  needed  here,  before 
plough  and  harrow,  to  clear  away  some  of  the  curse.  Until  a  few 
more  of  these  Irish  lords  are  gone  where  the  Desmonds  are,  them 
is  no  peace  for  Ireland.'* 


WESTWARD  HO  !  189 

"  Humph  !  not  so  far  wrong,  I  fear.  And  yet — Irish  lords  ? 
These  very  traitors  are  better  English  blood  than  we  who  hunt 
them  down.  When  Yeo  here  slew  the  Desmond  the  other  day,  he 
no  more  let  out  a  drop  of  Irish  blood,  than  if  he  had  slain  the  Lord 
Deputy  himself." 

'•  His  blood  be  on  his  own  head,"  said  Yeo.  "He  looked  as 
wild  a  savage  as  the  worst  of  them,  more  shame  to  him  ;  and  the 
Ancient  here  had  nigh  cut  off  his  arm  before  he  told  us  who  he 
v.as  :  and  then,  your  worship,  having  a  price  upon  his  head,  and 
like  to  bleed  to  death  too " 

"  Enough,  enough,  good  fellow,"  said  Raleigh.  "  Thou  hast 
done  what  was  given  thee  to  do.  Strange,  Amyas,  is  it  not  ? 
Noble  Normans  sunk  into  savages — Hibernis  ipsis  hiberniores  ! 
Is  there  some  uncivilizing  venom  in  the  air  ?  " 

"  Some  venom,  at  least,  which  makes  Englishmen  traitors.  But 
the  Irish  themselves  are  well  enough,  if  their  tyrants  would  let 
them  be.  See  now,  what  more  faithful  liegeman  has  her  Majesty 
than  the  Inchiquin,  who,  they  say,  is  Prince  of  Themund,  and 
should  be  king  of  all  Ireland,  if  every  man  had  his  right  ?  " 

"  Don't  talk  of  rights  in  the  land  of  wrongs,  man.  But  the  Inch- 
iquin knows  well  that  the  true  Irish  Esau  has  no  worse  enemy 
than  his  supplanter,  the  Norman  Jacob.  And  yet,  Amyas,  are 
even  these  men  worse  than  we  might  be,  if  we  had  been  bred  up 
masters  over  the  bodies  and  souls  of  men,  in  some  remote  land 
where  law  and  order  had  never  come  ?  Look  at  this  Desmond, 
brought  up  a  savage  among  savages,  a  Papist  among  Papists,  a 
despot  among  slaves  ;  a  thousand  easy  maidens  deeming  it  honor 
to  serve  his  pleasure,  a  thousand  wild  ruffians  deeming  it  piety  to 
fulfil  his  revenge  :  and  let  him  that  is  without  sin  amongst  us  cast 
the  first  stone." 

"Ay," went  on  Raleigh  to  himself,  as  the  conversation  dropped. 
"What  hadst  thou  been,  Raleigh,  hadst  thou  been  that  Desmond 
whose  lands  thou  now  desirest  ?  What  wilt  thou  be  when  thou 
hast  them  ?  Will  thy  children  sink  downwards,  as  these  noble 
barons  sank  ?  Will  the  genius  of  tyranny  and  falsehood  find  soil 
within  thy  heart  to  grow  and  ripen  fruit  .?  What  guarantee  hast 
thou  for  doing  better  here  than  those  who  went  before  thee  ?  And 
yet  :  cannot  I  do  justice,  and  love  mercy  ?  Can  I  not  establish 
plantations,  build  and  sow,  and  make  the  desert  valleys  laugh  with 
corn  ?  Shall  I  not  have  my  Spenser  with  me,  to  fill  me  with  all 
noble  thoughts,  and  raise  my  soul  to  his  heroic  pitch  ?  Is  not 
this  true  knight-errantry,  to  redeem  to  peace  and  use,  and  to  the 
glory  of  that  glorious  Queen  whom  God  has  given  to  me,  a  gener- 
ous soil  and  a  more  generous  race  ?  Trustful  and  tender-hearted 
they  are — none  more  ;  and  if  they  be  fickle  and  passionate,  will 
not  that  very  softness  of  temper,  which  makes  them  so  easily  led 
to  evil,  make  them  as  easy  to  be  led  towards  good  ?  Yes — here, 
away  from  courts,  among  a  people  who  should  bless  me  as  their 
benefactor  and  deliverer — what  golden  days  might  be  mine  !  And 
yet — is  this   but  another  angel's  mask  from    that  same   cunning 


jgo  IVESTlVARn  HO! 

fiend  Ambition's  stage  ?  And  will  my  house  be  indeed  the  house 
of  God,  the  foundations  of  which  are  loyalty,  and  its  bulwarks 
righteousness,  and  not  the  house  of  Fame,  whose  walls  are  of  the 
soap-bubble,  and  its  floor  a  sea  of  glass  mingled  with  fire  ?  I 
would  be  good  and  great — When  will  the  day  come  when  I  shall 
be  content  to  be  good,  and  yet  not  great,  like  this  same  simple 
Leigh,  toiling  on  by  my  side  to  do  his  duty,  with  no  more  thought 
for  the  morrow  than  the  birds  of  God  ?  Greatness  ?  I  have  tasted 
that  cup  within  the  last  twelve  months  ;  do  I  not  know  that  it  is 
sweet  in  the  mouth,  but  bitter  in  the  belly  ?  Greatness  ?  And 
was  not  Essex  great,  and  John  of  Austria  great,  and  Desmond 
great,  whose  race,  but  three  short  years  ago,  had  stood  for  ages 
higher  than  I  shall  ever  hope  to  climb — castles,  and  lands,  and 
slaves  by  thousands,  and  five  hundred  gentlemen  of  his  name, 
who  had  vowed  to  forswear  God  before  they  forswore  him  ;  and 
well  have  they  kept  their  vow  !  And  now,  dead  in  a  turf-hovel, 
like  a  coney  in  a  burrow  !     Leigh,  what  noise  was  that  ? " 

"  An  Irish  howl,  I  fancied  :  but  it  came  from  off  the  bog  ;  it  may 
be  only  a  plover's  cry." 

"Something  not  quite  right.  Sir  Captain,  to  my  mind,"  said  the 
Ancient.  "  They  have  ugly  stories  here  of  pucks  and  banshees, 
and  what  not  of  ghosts.  There  it  was  again,  wailing  just  like  a 
woman.  They  say  the  banshee  cried  all  night  before  Desmond 
was  slain." 

"  Perhaps,  then,  this  one  may  be  crying  for  Baltinglas  ;  for 
his  turn  is  likely  to  come  next— not  that  I  believe  in  such  old 
wives*  tales." 

"Shamus,  my  man,"  said  Amyas  to  the  guide,  "do  you  hear 
that  cry  in  the  bog  ?  " 

The  guide  put  on  the  most  stolid  of  faces,  and  answered  in 
broken  English  : 

"  Shamus  hear  nought.  Perhaps — what  you  call  him  ? — fishing 
in  ta  pool." 

"  An  otter,  he  means,  and  I  believe  he  is  right.  Stay,  no  !  Did 
you  not  hear  it  then,  Shamus  ?     It  was  a  woman's  voice." 

"  Shamus  is  shick  in  his  ears  ever  since  Christmas." 

"  Shamus  will  go  after  Desmond  if  he  lies,"  said  Amyas. 
"  Ancient,  we  had  better  send  a  few  men  to  see  what  it  is  ; 
there  may  be  a  poor  soul  taken  by  robbers,  or  perhaps  starving  to 
death,  as  I  have  seen  many  a  one." 

"  And  I  too,  poor  wretches  ;  and  by  no  fault  of  their  own  or 
ours  either  :  but  if  their  lords  will  fall  to  quarrelling,  and  then 
drive  each  other's  cattle,  and  waste  each  other's  lands,  sir,  you 
know " 

"  I  know,"  said  Amyas,  impatiently  ;  "  why  dost  not  take  the 
men,  and  go  ?  " 

"Cry  you  mercy,  noble  Captain:  but— I  fear  nothmg  born  of 
woman." 

"  Well,  what  of  that  }  "  said  Amyas,  with  a  smile. 

"  But  these  pucks,  sir.     The  wild   Irish  do  say  that  they  haunt 


WESTWARD  HO  !  I9I 

the  pools;  and  they  do  no  manner  of  harm,  sir,  when  you  are 
coming  up  to  them  ;  but  when  you  are  past,  sir,  they  jump  on 
your  back  like  to  apes,  sir,  —  and  who  can  tackle  that  manner  of 
fiend  ?  " 

"Why,  then,  by  thine  own  showing,  Ancient,"  said  Raleigh, 
"thou  may'st  go  and  see  all  safely  enough,  and  then  if  the  puck 
jumps  on  thee  as  thou  comest  back,  just  run  in  with  him  here, 
and  I'll  buy  him  of  thee  for  a  noble  ;  or  thou  mayest  keep  him 
in  a  cage,  and  make  money  in  London  by  showing  him  for  a 
monster." 

"  Good  heavens  forefend,  Captain  Raleigh  !  but  you  talk  rashly  1 
But  if  I  must.  Captain  Leigh — 

'  Where  duty  calls 

To  brazen  walls, 

How  base  the  slave  who  flinches.' 

Lads,  who'll  follow  me  ?  " 

"  Thou  askest  for  volunteers,  as  if  thou  wert  to  lead  a  forlorn 
hope.  Pull  away  at  the  usquebaugh,  man,  and  swallow  Dutch 
courage,  since  thine  English  has  oozed  away.  Stay,  I'll  go  my- 
self." 

"  And  I  with  you,"  said  Raleigh.  "  As  the  queen's  true  knight- 
errant,  I  am  bound  to  be  behindhand  in  no  adventure.  Who 
knows  but  we  may  find  a  wicked  magician,  just  going  to  cut  off 
the  head  of  some  saffron-mantled  princes  ?  "  and  he  dismounted. 

"Oh,  sirs,  sirs,  to  endanger  your  precious " 

"Pooh,"  said  Raleigh.  -'I  wear  an  amulet,  and  have  a  spell 
of  art-magic  at  my  tongue's  end,  whereby.  Sir  Ancient,  neither 
can  a  ghost  see  me,  nor  I  see  them.  Come  with  us,  Yeo,  the 
Desmond-slayer,  and  we  will  shame  the  devil,  or  be  shamed  by 
him." 

"  He  may  shame  me,  sir,  but  he  will  never  frighten  me,"  quoth 
Yeo  ;  "  but  the  bog,  Captains  ?  " 

"  Tut !  Devonshire  men,  and  heath-trotters  bom,  and  not  know 
our  way  over  a  peat  moor  !  " 

And  the  three  strode  away. 

They  splashed  and  scrambled  for  some  quarter  of  a  mile  to  the 
knoll,  while  the  cry  became  louder  and  louder  as  they  neared. 

"  That's  neither  ghost  nor  otter,  sirs,  but  a  true  Irish  howl,  as 
Captain  Leigh  said  ;  and  I'll  warrant  Master  Shamus  knew  as 
much  long  ago,"  said  Yeo. 

And  in  fact,  they  could  now  hear  plainly  the  *'  Ochone,Ochonorie, ' 
of  some  wild  woman  ;  and  scrambling  over  the  boulders  of  the 
knoll,  in  another  minute  came  full  upon  her. 

She  was  a  young  girl,  sluttish  and  unkempt,  of  course,  but  fai.' 
enough  :  her  only  covering,  as  usual,  was  the  ample  yellow  mantle. 
There  she  sat  upon  a  stone,  tearing  her  black  dishevelled  hair,  and 
every  now  and  then  throwing  up  her  head,  and  bursting  into  a 
long  mournful  cry,  "  for  all  the  world,"  as  Yeo  said,  "like  a  dumb 
four-footed  hound,  and  not  a  Christian  soul." 


192 


WESTWARD  HO 


On  her  knees  lay  the  head  of  a  man  of  middle  age,  in  the  long 
soutane  of  a  Romish  priest.  One  look  at  the  attitude  of  his  limbs 
told  them  that  he  was  dead. 

The  two  paused  in  awe  ;  and  Raleigh's  spirit,  susceptible  to  all 
poetical  images,  felt  keenly  that  strange  scene, — the  bleak  and 
bitter  sky,  the  shapeless  bog,  the  stunted  trees,  the  savage  girl 
alone  with  the  corpse  in  that  utter  desolation.  And  as  she  bent 
her  head  over  the  still  face,  and  called  wildly  to  him  who  heard 
her  not,  and  then,  utterly  unmindful  of  the  intruders,  sent  up 
again  that  dreary  wail  into  the  dreary  air  ;  they  felt  a  sacred 
horror,  which  almost  made  them  turn  away,  and  leave  her  un- 
questioned :  but  Yeo,  whose  nerves  were  of  tougher  fibre,  asked 
quietly — • 

"  Shall  I  go  and  search  the  fellow.  Captain  .-*  " 

"  Better,  I  think,"  said  Amyas. 

Raleigh  went  gently  to  the  girl,  and  spoke  to  her  in  English. 
She  looked  up  at  him,  his  armor  and  his  plume,  with  wide  and 
wondering  eyes,  and  then  shook  her  head,  and  returned  to  her 
lamentations. 

Raleigh  gently  laid  his  hand  on  her  arm,  and  lifted  her  up  while 
Yeo  and  Amyas  bent  over  the  corpse. 

It  was  the  body  of  a  large  and  coarse-featured  man  :  but  wasted 
and  shrunk  as  if  by  famine  to  a  very  skeleton.  The  hands  and 
legs  were  cramped  up,  and  the  trunk  bowed  together,  as  if  the 
man  had  died  of  cold  or  famine.  Yeo  drew  back  the  clothes  from 
the  thin  bosom,  while  the  girl  screamed  and  wept,  but  made  no 
effort  to  stop  him. 

"  Ask  her  who  it  is  }  Yeo,  you  know  a  little  Irish,"  said 
Amyas. 

He  asked,  but  the  girl  made  no  answer.  "  The  stubborn  jade 
won't  tell,  of  course,  sir.  If  she  were  but  a  man,  I'd  make  her 
soon  enough." 

"  Ask  her  who  killed  him  ?  " 

"  No  one,  she  says  ;  and  I  believe  she  says  true,  for  I  can  find 
no  wound.  The  man  has  been  starved,  sirs,  as  I  am  a  sinful  man. 
God  help  him,  though  he  is  a  priest  ;  and  yet  he  seems  full  enough 
down  below.  What's  here  ?  A  big  pouch,  sirs,  stuffed  full  of 
somewhat." 

"  Hand  it  hither." 

The  two  opened  the  pouch  ;  papers,  papers,  but  no  scrap  of 
food.     Then  a  parchment.     They  unrolled  it. 

"  Latin,"  said  Amyas  ;  "  you  must  construe,  Don  Scholar." 

"  Is  it  possible  ?  "  said  Raleigh,  after  reading  a  moment.  "  This 
is  indeed  a  prize  !     This  is  Saunders  himself !  " 

Yeo  sprang  up  from  the  body  as  if  he  had  touched  an  adder. 
"Nick  Saunders,  the  Legacy,  sir  ?  " 

"  Nicholas  Saunders,  the  Legate." 

"  The  villain  !  why  did  not  he  wait  for  me  to  have  the  comfort 
of  killing  hina  ?     Dog  !  "  and  he  kicked  the  corpse  with  his  foot.^ 

"Quiet !  quiet  !     Remember  the  poor  girl,"  said  Amyas,  as  sh* 


WESTIVARD  I/O!  1 93 

shrieked  at  the  profanation,  while  Raleigh  went  on,  half  to  him- 
self. "  Yes,  this  is  Saunders.  Misguided  fool,  and  this  is  the  end  ! 
To  this  thou  hast  come  with  thy  plotting  and  thy  conspiring,  thy 
lying  and  thy  boasting,  consecrated  banners  and  Pope's  bull's, 
Agnus  Deis  and  holy  waters,  the  blessing  of  all  saints  and  angels, 
and  thy  Lady  of  the  Immaculate  Conception!  Thou  hast  called 
on  the  Heavens  to  judge  between  thee  and  us,  and  here  is  their 
answer  !  What  is  that  in  his  hand,  Amyas  }  Give  it  me.  A  pas- 
toral epistle  to  the  Earl  of  Ormond,  and  all  nobles  of  the  realm  of 
Ireland  ;  '  To  all  who  groan  beneath  the  loathsome  tyranny  of  an 
illegitimate  adulteress,  etc.,  Nicholas  Saunders,  by  the  grace  of 
God,  Legate,  etc'  Bah  !  and  this  forsooth  was  thy  last  medi- 
tation !  Incorrigible  pedant  !  Victrix  causa  Diis  placuit,  sed 
victa  Catoni  !  " 

He  ran  his  eye  through  various  other  documents,  written  in  the 
usual  strain  :  full  of  huge  promises  from  the  Pope  and  the  King  of 
Spain  ;  frantic  and  filthy  slanders  against  Elizabeth,  Burghley, 
Leicester,  Essex  (the  elder),  Sidney,  and  every  great  and  good 
man  (never  mind  of  which  party}  who  then  upheld  the  common- 
weal ;  bombastic  attempts  to  terrify  v/eak  consciences,  by  denounc- 
ing endless  fire  against  those  who  opposed  the  true  faith  ;  fulsome 
ascriptions  of  martyrdom  and  sanctity  to  every  rebel  and  traitor 
who  had  been  hanged  for  the  last  twenty  years  ;  wearysome  argu- 
ments about  the  bull  In  Coena  Domini,  Elizabeth's  excommunica- 
tion, the  nullity  of  English  law,  the  sacred  duty  of  rebellion,  the 
right  to  kill  a  prince  impenitently  heretical,  and  the  like  insanities 
and  villanies,  which  may  be  read  at  large  in  Camden,  the  Phoenix 
Britannicus,  Fox's  Martyrs,  or,  surest  of  all,  in  the  writings  of  the 
worthies  themselves. 

With  a  gesture  of  disgust,  Raleigh  crammed  the  foul  stuff  back 
again  into  the  pouch.  Taking  it  with  them,  they  walked  back  to 
the  company,  and  then  remounting,  marched  away  once  more 
towards  the  lands  of  the  Desmonds  ;  and  the  girl  was  left  alone 
with  the  dead. 

An  hour  had  passed,  when  another  Englishman  was  standing 
by  the  wailing  girl,  and  round  him  a  dozen  shockheaded  kernes, 
Skene  on  thigh  and  javelin  in  hand,  were  tossing  about  their 
tawny  rags,  and  adding  their  lamentations  to  those  of  the  lonely 
watcher. 

The  Englishman  was  Eustace  Leigh  ;  a  layman  still,  but  still  at 
his  old  work.  By  two  years  of  intrigue  and  labor  from  one  e:hd  of 
Ireland  to  the  other,  he  had  been  trying  to  satisfy  his  conscience  for 
rejecting  "  the  higher  calling  "  of  the  celibate  ;  for  mad  hopes  still 
lurked  within  that  fiery  heart.  His  brow  was  wrinkled  now  ;  his 
features  harshened  ;  the  scar  upon  his  face,  and  the  slight  distor- 
tion which  accompanied  it,  was  hidden  by  a  bushy  beard  from  all 
but  himself ;  and  he  never  forgot  it  for  a  day,  nor  forgot  who  had 
given  it  to  him. 

He  had  been  with  Desmond,  wandering  in  moor  and  moss  for 
TT.anv  a  month  in  dang:er  of  his  life  ;  and  how  he  was  on  his  way 


1^4  WESTIVARD  HOI 

to  James  Fitz-Eustace,  Lord  Baltinglas,  to  bring  him  the  news  o) 
Desmond's  death  ;  and  with  him  a  remnant  of  the  clan,  who  were 
either  too  stouthearted,  or  too  desperately  stained  with  crime,  to 
seek  peace  from  the  English,  and,  as  their  fellows  did,  find  it  at 
once  and  freely. 

There  Eustace  stood,  looking  down  on  all  that  was  left  of  the 
most  sacred  personage  of  Ireland  ;  the  man  who,  as  he  once  had 
hoped,  was  to  regenerate  his  native  land,  and  bring  the  proud 
island  of  the  West  once  more  beneath  that  gentle  yoke,  in  which 
united  Christendom  labored  for  the  commonweal  of  the  universal 
Church.  There  he  was,  and  with  him  all  Eustace's  dreams,  in  the 
very  heart  of  that  country  which  he  had  vowed,  and  believed  as  he 
vowed,  was  ready  to  rise  in  arms  as  one  man,  even  to  the  baby  at 
the  breast  (so  he  had  said),  in  vengeance  against  the  Saxon  heretic, 
and  sweep  the  hated  name  of  Englishman  into  the  deepest  abysses 
of  the  surge  which  walled  her  coasts  ;  with  Spain  and  the  Pope  to 
back  him,  and  the  wealth  of  the  Jesuits  at  his  command  ;  in  the 
midst  of  faithful  Catholics,  valiant  soldiers,  noblemen  who  had 
pledged  themselves  to  die  for  the  cause,  serfs  who  worshipped  him 
as  a  demigod — starved  to  death  in  a  bog  !  It  was  a  pretty  plain 
verdict  on  the  reasonableness  of  his  expectations  ;  but  not  to 
Eustace  Leigh. 

It  was  a  failure,  of  course  ;  but  it  was  an  accident ;  indeed,  t 
have  been  expected,  in  a  wicked  world  whose  prince  and  master, 
as  all  knew,  was  the  devil  himself  ;  indeed,  proof  of  the  righteous- 
ness of  the  cause — for  when  had  the  true  faith  been  other  than 
persecuted  and  trampled  under  foot  ?  If  one  came  to  think  of  it 
with  eyes  purified  from  the  tears  of  carnal  impatience,  what  was 
it  but  a  glorious  martyrdom  .'' 

"  Blest  Saunders  !  '  "  murmured  Eustace  Leigh  ;  "  let  me  die  the 
death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end  be  like  this  !  Ora  pro 
me,  most  excellent  martyr,  while  I  dig  thy  grave  upon  this  lonely 
moor,  to  wait  there  for  thy  translation  to  one  of  those  stately 
shrines,  which,  cemented  by  the  blood  of  such  as  thee,  shall  here- 
after rise  restored  toward  heaven,  to  make  this  land  once  more 
'  The  Isle  of  Saints.'  " 

The  corpse  was  buried  :  a  few  prayers  said  hastily  ;  and  Eustace 
Leigh  was  away  again,  not  now  to  find  Baltinglas  ;  for  it  was 
more  than  his  life  was  worth.  The  girl  had  told  him  of  the  Eng- 
lish soldiers  who  had  passed,  and  he  knew  that  they  would  reach 
the  earl  probably  before  he  did.  The  game  was  up  ;  all  was  lost. 
So  he  retraced  his  steps,  as  a  desperate  resource,  to  the  last  place 
where  he  would  be  looked  for  :  and  after  a  month  of  disguising, 
hiding,  and  other  expedients,  found  himself  again  in  his  native 
county  of  Devon,  while  Fitz-Eustace  Viscount  Baltinglas  had  taken 
ship  for  Spain,  having  got  little  by  his  famous  argument  to  Ormond 
in  behalf  of  his  joining  the  Church  of  Rome,  "  Had  not  thine  an* 
cestor,  blessed  Thomas  of  Canterbury,  died  for  the  Church  of 
Rome,  thou  iiadst  never  been  Earl  of  Ormond."  The  premises 
wert- c:-rl  (iii'v  sounde-  than  those  of  his  party  were  wont  to  be  ; 


WESTWARD  HO  f  1^5 

for  it  was  to  expiate  the  murder  of  that  turbulent  hero  that  the 
Ormond  lands  had  been  granted  by  Henry  II.  :  but  as  for  the  con- 
clusion therefrom,  it  was  much  on  a  par  with  the  rest. 

And  now  let  us  return  to  Raleigh  and  Amyas,  as  they  jog  along 
their  weary  road.  They  have  many  things  to  talk  of  ;  for  it  is  but 
three  days  since  they  met. 

Amyas,  as  you  see,  is  coming  fast  into  Raleigh's  old  opinion  of 
Ireland.  Raleigh,  under  the  inspiration  of  a  possible  grant  of 
Desmond's  lands,  looks  on  bogs  and  rocks  transfigured  by  his  own 
hopes  and  fancy,  as  if  by  the  glory  of  a  rainbow.  He  looked  at 
all  things  so,  noble  fellow,  even  thirty  years  after,  when  old,  worn 
out,  and  ruined  ;  well  for  him  had  it  been  otherwise,  and  his  heart 
had  grown  old  with  his  head  !  Amyas,  who  knows  nothing  about 
Desmond's  lands,  is  puzzled  at  the  change. 

"  Why,  what  is  this,  Raleigh  .?  You  are  like  children  sitting  in 
the  market-place,  and  nothing  pleases  you.  You  wanted  to  get  to 
Court,  and  you  have  got  there ;  and  are  lord  and  master,  I 
hear,  or  something  very  like  it,  already — and  as  soon  as  For- 
tune stuffs  your  mouth  full  of  sweetmeats,  do  you  turn  informer 
on  her  ?  " 

Raleigh  laughed  insignificantly  :  but  was  silent. 

"  And  how  is  your  friend,  Mr.  Secretary  Spenser,  who  was  with 
tis  at  Smerwick  ?  " 

"  Spenser  "i  He  has  thriven  even  as  I  have  ;  and  he  has  found, 
as  I  have,  that  in  making  one  friend  at  Court  you  make  ten  foes  ; 
but  '  Oderint  Dum  metuant '  is  no  more  my  motto  than  his,  Leigh. 
I  want  to  be  great— great  I  am  already,  they  say,  if  princes'  favor 
can  swell  the  frog  into  an  ox  ;  but  I  want  to  be  liked,  loved — I 
want  to  see  people  smile  when  I  enter." 

"So  they  do,  I'll  warrant,"  said  Amyas. 

"  So  do  hyenas,"  said  Raleigh  ;  "grin  because  they  are  hungry, 
and  I  may  throw  them  a  bone  ;  I'll  throw  you  one  now,  old  lad,  or 
rather  a  good  sirloin  of  beef,  for  the  sake  of  your  smile.  That's 
honest,  at  least,  I'll  warrant,  whosoever's  else  is  not.  Have  you 
heard  of  my  brother  Humphrey's  new  project  ?  " 

"  How  should  I  hear  anything  in  this  waste  of  howling  wilder- 
ness 1  " 

"  Kiss  hands  to  the  wilderness,  then,  and  come  with  me  to  New- 
foundland !  " 

"  You  to  Newfoundland  ?  " 

"  Yes.  I  to  Newfoundland,  unless  my  little  matter  here  is  settled 
at  once.  Gloriana  don't  know  it,  and  shan't  till  I'm  off.  She'd 
send  me  to  the  Tower,  I  think,  if  she  caught  me  playing  truant. 
I  could  hardly  get  leave  to  come  hither  ;  but  I  must  out,  and  try 
my  fortune.  I  am  over  ears  in  debt  already,  and  sick  of  courts 
and  courtiers.  Humphrey  must  go  next  spring  and  take  posses- 
sion of  his  kingdom  beyond  seas,  or  his  patent  expires  ;  and  with 
him  I  go,  and  you,  too,  my  circumnavigating  giant." 

And  then  Raleigh  expounded  to  Amyas  the  details  of  the  great 


ign  '  WESTWARD  HO! 

Newfoundland  scheme,  which  whoso  will  may  read  in  the  pag-es 
of  Hakluyt. 

Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  Raleigh's  half-brother,  held  a  patent  for 
"planting"  the  lands  of  Newfoundland  and  "  Meta  Incognita"' 
(Labrador).  He  had  attempted  a  voyage  thither  with  Raleigh  in 
1578,  whereof  I  never  could  find  any  news,  save  that  he  came  back 
again,  after  a  heavy  brush  with  some  Spanish  ships  (in  which  his 
best  captain,  Mr.  Morgan,  was  killed),  having  done  nothing,  and 
much  impaired  his  own  estate  :  but  now  he  had  collected  a  large 
sum  ;  Sir  Gilbert  Peckham  of  London,  Mr.  Hayes  of  South  Devon, 
and  various  other  gentlemen,  of  whom  more  hereafter,  had  ad- 
ventured their  money  ;  and  a  considerable  colony  was  to  be 
sent  out  the  next  year,  with  miners,  assayers,  and  what  was  more, 
Parmenius  Budseus,  Frank's  old  friend,  who  had  come  to  England 
full  of  thirst  to  see  the  wonders  of  the  New  World  ;  and  over  and 
above  this,  as  Raleigh  told  Amyas  in  strictest  secrecy,  Adrian  Gil- 
bert, Humphrey's  brother,  was  turning  every  stone  at  Court  for  a 
patent  of  discovery  in  the  North-West;  and  this  Newfoundland 
colony,  though  it  was  to  produce  gold,  silver,  merchandise,  and 
what  not,  was  but  a  basis  of  operations,  a  half-way  house  from 
whence  to  work  out  the  North-West  passage  to  the  Indies — that 
golden  dream,  as  fatal  to  English  valor  as  the  Guiana  one  to 
Spanish — and  yet  hardly,  hardly  to  be  regretted,  when  we  remem- 
ber the  seamanship,  the  science,  the  chivalry,  the  heroism,  un- 
equalled in  the  history  of  the  English  nation,  which  it  has  called 
forth  among  those  our  later  Arctic  voyagers,  who  have  combined 
the  knight-errantry  of  the  middle  age  with  the  practical  prudence 
of  the  modern,  and  dared  for  duty  more  than  Cortez  or  Pizarro 
dared  for  gold. 

Amyas,  simple  fellow,  took  all  in  greedily  ;  he  knew  enough  of 
the  dangers  of  the  Magellan  passage  to  appreciate  the  boundless 
value  of  a  road  to  the  East  Indies  which  would  (as  all  supposed 
then)  save  half  the  distance,  and  be  as  it  were  a  private  possession 
of  the  English,  safe  from  Spanish  interference  ;  and  he  listened 
reverently  to  Sir  Humphrey's  quaint  proofs,  half  true,  half  fan- 
tastic, of  such  a  passage,  which  Raleigh  detailed  to  him — of  the 
Primum  Mobile,  and  its  diurnal  motion  from  east  to  west  in  obe- 
dience to  which  the  sea-current  flowed  westward  ever  round  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  being  unable  to  pass  through  the  narrow 
strait  'between  South  America  and  the  Antarctic  continent,  rushed 
up  the  American  shore,  as  the  Gulf  Stream,  and  poured  north- 
westward between  Greenland  and  Labrador  towards  Cathay  ana 
India  ;  of  that  most  crafty  argument  of  Sir  Humphrey's — how 
Aristotle  in  his  book  De  Mundo,  and  Simon  Gr^^neus  in  his  anno- 
tations thereon,  declare  that  the  world  (the  Old  World)  is  an  island, 
compassed  by  that  which  Homer  calls  the  river  Oceanus  ;  ergo, 
the  New  World  is  an  island  also,  and  there  is  a  North-West  pas- 
sage ;  of  the  three  brothers  (names  unknown)  who  had  actually 
made  the  voyage,  and  named  what  was  afterwards  called  Davis's 
Strait  after  themselves  :  of  the  Indians  who  were  cast  ashore  in 


IVESTIFAAW  HO  ! 


19: 


Germany  in  the  reign  of  Frederic  Barbarossa,  who,  as  Sir  Hum- 
phrey had  learnedly  proved  per  modum  tollendi,  could  have  come 
only 'by  the  North-West  ;  and  above  all,  of  Salvaterra,  the  Span- 
iard, who  in  1568  had  told  Sir  Henry  Sidney  (Philip's  father),  there 
in  Ireland,  how  he  had  spoken  with  a  Mexican  friar  named 
Urdaneta,  who  had  himself  come  from  Mar  del  Zur  (the  Pacific) 
into  Germany  by  that  very  North-West  passage  ;  at  which  last 
Amyas  shook  his  head,  and  said  that  friars  were  liars,  and  seeing 
believing  ;  "  but  if  you  must  needs  have  an  adventure,  you  insa- 
tiable soul  you,  why  not  try  for  the  golden  city  of  Manoa  ? ' 

"  Manoa  ?  "  asked  Raleigh,  who  had  heard,  as  most  had,  dim 
rumors  of  the  place.     "  What  do  you  know  of  it  ?  " 

Whereon  Amyas  told  him  all  that  he  had  gathered  from  the 
Spaniard  ;  and  Raleigh,  in  his  turn,  believed  every  word. 

"  Humph  !  "  said  he  after  a  long  silence.  "  To  find  that  golden 
Emperor  ;  offer  him  help  and  friendship  from  the  Queen  of  Eng- 
land ;  defend  him  against  the  Spaniards  ;  if  we  became  strong 
enough,  conquer  back  all  Peru  from  the  Popish  tyrants,  and  rein- 
state him  on  the  throne  of  the  Incas,  with  ourselves  for  his  body- 
guard, as  the  Norman  Varangians  were  to  the  effeminate  Emperors 
of  Byzant — Hey,  Amyas  ?  You  would  make  a  gallant  chieftain  of 
Varangs.     We'll  do  it,  lad  !  " 

"  We'll  try,"  said  Amyas  ;  "  but  we  must  be  quick,  for  there's 
one  Berreo  sworn  to  carry  out  the  quest  to  the  death  ;  and  if  the 
Spaniards  once  get  thither,  their  plan  of  works  will  be  much  more 
like  Pizarro's  than  like  yours  ;  and  by  the  time  we  come,  there  will 
be  neither  gold  nor  city  left." 

'•  Nor  Indians  either,  I'll  warrant  the  butchers  ;  but,  lad,  I  am 
promised  to  Humphrey  ;  I  have  a  bark  fitting  out  already,  and  all 
I  have,  and  more,  adventured  in  her  ;  so  Manoa  must  wait." 

"  It  will  wait  well  enough,  if  the  Spaniards  prosper  no  better  on 
the  Amazon  than  they  have  done  ;  but  must  I  come  with  you  ?  To 
tell  the  truth,  I  am  quite  shore-sick,  and  to  sea  I  must  go.  What 
will  my  mother  say  ?  " 

"  I'll  manage  thy  mother,"  said  Raleigh  ;  and  so  he  did  ;  for  to 
cut  a  long  story  short,  he  went  back  the  month  after,  and  he  not 
only  took  home  letters  from  Amyas  to  his  mother,  but  so  im- 
pressed on  that  good  lady  the  enormous  profits  and  honors  to  be 
derived  from  Meta  Incognita,  and  (which  was  most  true)  the  ad- 
vantage to  any  young  man  of  sailing  with  such  a  general  as  Hum- 
phrey Gilbert,  most  pious  and  most  learned  of  seamen  and  of 
cavaliers,  beloved  and  honored  above  all  his  compeers  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  that  she  consented  to  Amyas's  adventuring  in  the  voy- 
age some  two  hundred  pounds  which  had  come  to  him  as  his  share 
of  prize-money,  after  the  ever  memorable  circumnavigation.  For 
Mrs.  Leigh,  be  it  understood,  was  no  longer  at  Burrough  Court.  By 
Frank's  persuasion,  she  had  let  the  old  place,  moved  up  to  London 
with  her  eldest  son,  and  taken  for  herself  a  lodging  somewhere  by 
Palace  Stairs,  which  looked  out  upon  the  silver  Thames  (for 
Thames  was  silver  then),  with  its  busy  ferries  and  gliding  boats. 


r^8  IVES  TWA  HD  HO  ! 

across  to  the  pleasant  fields  of  Lambeth,  and  the  Archbishop's 
Palace,  and  the  wooded  Surrey  hills  ;  and  there  she  spent  her 
peaceful  days,  close  to  her  Frank  and  to  the  Court.  Elizabeth 
would  have  had  her  re-enter  it,  offering  her  a  small  place  in  the 
household  :  but  she  declined,  saying  that  she  was  too  old  and 
heart-weary  for  aught  but  prayer.  So  by  prayer  she  lived,  under 
the  sheltering  shadow  of  the  tall  minster,  where  she  went  morn 
and  even  to  worship,  and  to  entreat  for  the  two  in  whom  her  heart 
was  bound  up  ;  and  Frank  slipped  in  every  day  if  but  for  five  min- 
utes, and  brought  with  him  Spenser,  or  Raleigh,  or  Dyer,  or 
Budseus,  or  sometimes  Sidney's  self :  and  there  was  talk  of  high 
and  holy  things,  of  which  none  could  speak  better  than  could  she  ; 
and  each  guest  went  from  that  hallowed  room  a  humbler  and  yet 
a  loftier  man.  So  slipped  on  the  peaceful  months,  and  few  and 
far  between  came  Irish  letters,  for  Ireland  was  then  farther  from 
Westminster  than  is  the  Black  Sea  now  ;  but  those  were  days  in 
which  wives  and  mothers  had  learned  (as  they  have  learned  once 
more,  sweet  souls  ! )  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight  for  those 
they  love  :  and  Mrs.  Leigh  was  content  (though  when  was  she  not 
content  .'* )  to  hear  that  Amyas  was  winning  a  good  report  as  a 
brave  and  prudent  officer,  sober,  just,  and  faithful,  beloved  and 
obeyed  alike  by  English  soldiers  and  Irish  kernes. 

Those  two  years,  and  the  one  which  followed,  were  the  happiest 
which  she  had  known  since  her  husband's  death.  But  the  cloud 
was  fast  coming  up  the  horizon,  though  she  saw  it  not.  A  little 
longer,  and  the  sun  would  be  hid  for  many  a  wintry  day. 

Amyas  went  to  Plymouth  (with  Yeo,  of  course,  at  his  heels),  and 
there  beheld,  for  the  first  time,  the  majestic  countenance  of  the 
philosophy  of  Compton  Castle.  He  lodged  with  Drake,  and  found 
him  not  over-sanguine  as  to  the  success  of  the  voyage. 

"  For  learning  and  manners,  Amyas,  there's  not  his  equal ;  and 
the  queen  may  well  love  him,  and  Devon  be  proud  of  him  :  but 
book-learning  is  not  business  ;  book-learning  didn't  get  me  round 
the  world  ;  book-learning  didn't  make  Captain  Hawkins,  nor  his 
father  neither,  the  best  shipbuilders  from  Hull  to  Cadiz  ;  and  book- 
learning,  I  very  much  fear,  won't  plant  Newfoundland." 

However,  the  die  was  cast,  and  the  little  fleet  of  five  sail  assem- 
bled in  Cawsand  Bay.  Amyas  was  to  go  as  a  gentleman  adven- 
turer on  board  of  Raleigh's  bark  ;  Raleigh  himself,  however,  at 
the  eleventh  hour,  had  been  forbidden  by  the  queen  to  leave  Eng- 
land. Ere  they  left.  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  picture  was  painted 
by  some  Plymouth  artist,  to  be  sent  up  to  Elizabeth  in  answer  to  a 
letter  and  a  gift  sent  by  Raleigh,  which,  as  a  specimen  of  the  men 
and  of  the  time,  I  here  transcribe  :  — 

*"  Brother  —  I  have  sent  you  a  token  from  her  Majesty,  an 
anchor  guided  by  a  lady,  as  you  see.  And  further,  her  Highness 
willed  me  to  send  you  word,  that  she  wisheth  you  as  great  good 

*  This  letter  was  a  few  years  since  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Pomeroy  Gilbert,  fort-major  A 
Dartmputh,  a  descendant  of  the  Admiral's. 


WEST^AUD  HO!  i^c^ 

hap  and  safety  to  your  ship  as  if  she  were  there  in  person,  desiring 
you  to  have  care  of  yourself  as  of  that  which  she  tendereth  ; 
and,  therefore,  for  her  sake,  you  must  provide  for  it  accordingly. 
Furthermore,  she  commandeth  that  you  leave  your  picture  with 
"aer.  For  the  rest  I  leave  till  our  meeting,  or  to  the  report  of  the 
bearer,  who  would  needs  be  the  messenger  of  this  good  news.  So 
I  commit  you  to  the  will  and  protection  of  God,  who  send  us  such 
life  and  death  as  he  shall  please,  or  hath  appointed. 

"  Richmond,  this  Friday  morning, 
"  Your  true  Brother, 

••  W.  Raleigh." 

"  Who  would  not  die,  sir,  for  such  a  woman  ?  "  said  Sir  Hum- 
phrey (and  he  said  truly),  as  he  showed  that  letter  to  Amyas. 

"  Who  would  not  ?     But  she  bids  you  rather  live  for  her." 

"  I  shall  do  both,  young  man  ;  and  for  God,  too,  I  trust.  We 
are  going  in  God's  cause;  we  go  for  the  honor  of  God's  Gospel, 
for  the  deliverance  of  poor  infidels  led  captive  by  the  devil  ;  for  the 
relief  of  my  distressed  countrymen  unemployed  within  this  narrow 
isle  ;  and  to  God  we  commit  our  cause.  We  fight  against  the 
devil  himself ;  and  stronger  is  He  that  is  within  us  than  he  that  is 
against  us. 

Some  say  that  Raleigh  himself  came  down  to  Plymouth,  accom- 
panied the  fleet  a  day's  sail  to  sea,  and  would  have  given  her 
Majesty  the  slip,  and  gone  with  them  Westward-ho,  but  for  Sir 
Humphrey's  advice.  It  is  likely  enough  :  but  I  cannot  find  evi- 
dence for  it.  At  all  events,  on  the  nth  June  the  fleet  sailed  out, 
having,  says  Mr.  Hayes,  "  in  number  about  260  men,  among  whom 
we  had  of  every  faculty  good  choice,  as  shipwrights,  masons,  car- 
penters, smiths,  and  suchlike,  requisite  for  such  an  action  ;  also 
mineral  men  and  refiners.  Beside,  for  solace  of  our  people  and 
allurement  of  the  savages,  we  were  provided  of  musique  in  good 
variety  ;  not  omitting  the  least  toys,  as  morris-dancers,  hobby- 
horses, and  May-like  conceits,  to  delight  the  savage  people,  whom 
we  intended  to  win  by  all  fair  means  possible."  An  armament 
complete  enough,  even  to  that  tenderness  towards  the  Indians, 
which  is  so  striking  a  feature  of  the  Elizabethan  seaman  (called 
out  in  them,  perhaps,  by  horror  at  the  Spanish  cruelties,  as  well 
as  by  their  more  liberal  creed),  and  to  the  daily  service  of  God  on 
board  of  every  ship,  according  to  the  simple  old  instructions  of 
Captain  John  Hawkins  to  one  of  his  little  squadrons,  "  Keep  good 
company  ;  beware  of  fire  ;  serve  God  daily  ;  and  love  one  an- 
other" — an  armament,  in  short,  complete  {"^n  all  but  men.  The 
sailors  had  been  picked  up  hastily  and  anywhere,  and  soon  proved 
themselves  a  mutinous,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  bark  Swallow,  a 
piratical  set.  The  mechanics  were  little  better.  The  gentlemen- 
adventurers,  puffed  up  with  vain  hopes  of  finding  a  new  Mexico, 
became  soon  disappointed  and  surly  at  the  hard  practical  reality  ; 
while  over  all  was  the  head  ot  a  sage  and  an  enthusiast,  a  man  too 
noble  to  suspect  others,  and  too  pure  to  make  allowances  for  poof. 


fOQ  VVESTIVAJ^D  I/O  ! 

dirty  human  weaknesses.  He  had  g-ot  his  scheme  perlect  upon 
paper,  well  for  him,  and  for  his  company,  if  he  had  asked  Francis 
Drake  to  translate  it  for  him  into  fact  !  As  early  as  the  second 
day,  the  seeds  of  failure  began  to  sprout  above  ground.  The  men 
of  Raleigh's  bark,  the  Vice-Admiral,  suddenly  found  themselves 
seized,  or  supposed  themselves  seized,  with  a  contagious  sickness, 
and  at  midnight  forsook  the  fleet,  and  went  back  to  Plymouth  ; 
whereto  Mr.  Hayes  can  only  say,  "  The  reason  I  never  could 
understand.  Sure  I  am  that  Mr.  Raleigh  spared  no  cost  in  setting 
them  forth.     And  so  I  leave  it  unto  God  ! " 

But  Amyas  said  more.  He  told  Butler  the  captain  plainly  that, 
if  the  bark  went  back,  he  would  not  ;  that  he  had  seen  enough  ot 
ships  deserting  their  consorts  ;  that  it  should  never  be  said  of  him 
that  he  had  followed  Winter's  example,  and  that,  too,  on  a  fair 
easterly  wind  ;  and  finally  that  he  had  seen  Doughty  hanged  for 
trying  to  play  such  a  trick,  and  that  he  might  see  others  hanged, 
too,  before  he  died.  Whereon  Captain  Butler  offered  to  draw  and 
fight,  to  which  Amyas  showed  no  repugnance  ;  whereon  the  cap- 
tain, having  taken  the  second  look  at  Amyas's  thews  and  sinews, 
reconsidered  the  matter,  and  offered  to  put  Amyas  on  board  of 
Sir  Humphrey's  Delight,  if  he  could  find  a  crew  to  row  him. 

Amyas  looked  around. 

"  Are  there  any  of  Sir  Francis  Drake's  men  on  board  ?  " 

•'  Three,  sir,"  said  Yeo.     "Robert  Drew,  and  two  others." 

"  Pelicans  !  "  roared  Amyas,  "  you  have  been  round  the  world, 
and  will  you  turn  back  from  Westward-ho  ?  " 

There  was  a  moment's  silence,  and  then  Drew  came  forward. 

"Lower  us  a  boat,  captain,  and  lend  us  a  caliver  to  make  sig- 
nals with,  while  I  get  my  kit  on  deck  ;  Fll  after  Captain  Leigh, 
if  I  row  him  aboard  all  alone  to  my  own  hands." 

"  If  I  ever  command  a  ship,  I  will  not  forget  you,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Nor  us  either,  sir,  we  hope  ;  for  we  haven't  forgotten  you  and 
your  honest  conditions,"  said  both  the  other  Pelicans  ;  and  so  away 
over  the  side  went  all  the  five,  and  pulled  away  after  the  admiral's 
lantern,  firing  shots  at  intervals  as  signals.  Luckily  for  the  five 
desperadoes,  the  night  was  all  but  calm.  They  got  on  board  be- 
fore the  morning,  and  so  away  into  the  boundless  West.* 

•The  Raleigh,  the  largest  ship  of  the  squadron,  was  of  only  200  tons  burden  ;  The 
Golden  Hind,  Hayes*  ship,  which  returned  safe,  of  40  ;  and  The  Squirrel  (whereof  more 
hereafter),  of  10  tons  !     In  such  cockboats  did  these  old  heroes  brave  the  unknown  seas. 


VVESnV/iJiD  no  I  301 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HOW   BIDEFORD   BRIDGE   DINED   AT   ANNERY   HOUSE. 

"  Three  lords  sat  drinking  late  yestreen, 
And  ere  they  paid  the  lavving, 
Tliey  set  a  combat  them  between, 
To  fight  It  in  the  dz.vi'in^g.''^ —Scotch  Ballad. 

Every  one  who  knows  Bideford  cannot  but  know  Bideford 
Bridge  ;  for  it  is  the  very  omphalos,  cynosure,  and  soul,  around 
which  the  town,  as  a  body,  has  organized  itself  ;  and  as  Edinburgh 
is  Edinburgh  by  virtue  of  its  castle,  Rome  Rome  by  virtue  of  its 
capitol,  and  Egypt  Egypt  by  virtue  of  its  Pyramids,  so  is  Bideford, 
Bideford  by  virtue  of  its  Bridge.  But  all  do  not  know  the  occult 
powers  which  have  advanced  and  animated  the  said  wondrous 
bridge  for  now  live  hundred  years,  and  made  it  the  chief  wonder, 
according  to  Prince  and  Fuller,  of  this  fair  land  of  Devon  :  being 
first  an  inspired  bridge  ;  a  soul-saving  bridge  ;  an  alms-giving 
bridge  ;  an  educational  bridge  ;  a  sentient  bridge  ;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  a  dinner-giving  bridge.  All  do  not  know  how,  when  it 
began  to  be  built  some  half  mile  higher  up,  hands  invisible  carried 
the  stones  down  stream  each  night  to  the  present  site  ;  until  Sir 
Richard  Gurney,  parson  of  the  parish,  going  to  bed  one  night  in 
sore  perplexity  and  fear  of  the  evil  spirit  who  seemed  so  busy  in 
his  sheepfold,  beheld  a  vision  of  an  angel,  who  bade  build  the 
bridge  where  he  himself  had  so  kindly  transported  the  materials  ; 
for  there  alone  was  sure  foundation  amid  the  broad  sheet  of  shift- 
ing sand.  All  do  not  know  how  Bishop  Grandison  of  Exeter  pro- 
claimed throughout  his  diocese  indulgences,  benedictions,  and 
"  participation  in  all  spiritual  blessings  forever,"  to  all  who  would 
promote  the  bridging  of  that  dangerous  ford  ;  and  so,  consulting 
alike  the  interests  of  their  souls  and  of  their  bodies,  "  make  the 
best  of  both  worlds." 

All  do  not  know,  nor  do  I,  that  "though  the  foundation  of  the 
bridge  is  laid  upon  wool,  yet  it  shakes  at  the  slightest  step  of  a 
horse  ;  "  or  that,  *'  though  it  has  twenty-three  arches,  yet  one  Wm. 
Alford  (another  Milo)  carried  on  his  back  for  a  wager  four  bushels 
saU-water  measure,  all  the  length  thereof ;  "  or  that  the  bridge  is 
a  veritable  esquire,  bearing  arms  of  its  own  (a  ship  and  bridge 
proper  on  a  plain  field),  and  owning  lands  and  tenements  in  many 
parishes,  with  which  the  said  miraculous  bridge  has,  from  time  to 
time,  founded  charities,  built  schools,  waged  suits   at  law,    and 


202  WESTWARD  HO  t 

finally  (for  this  concerns  us  most)  given  yearly  dinners,  and  kept 
for  that  purpose  (luxuriously  and  liquorish  bridge  that  it  was)  the 
best  stocked  cellar  of  wines  in  all  Devon. 

To  one  of  these  dinners,  as  it  happened,  v\-ere  invited  in  the  year 
1583  all  the  notabilities  of  Bideford,  and  beside  them  Mr.  St.  Leger 
of  Annery  close  by,  brother  of  the  Marshal  of  Munster,  and  of 
Lady  Grenvile  ;  a  most  worthy  and  hospitable  gentleman,  who, 
finding  riches  a  snare,  parted  with  them  so  freely  to  all  his  neigh- 
bors as  long  as  he  lived,  that  he  effectually  prevented  his  children 
after  him  from  falling  into  the  temptations  thereunto  incident. 

Between  him  and  one  of  the  bridge  trustees  arose  an  argument, 
whether  a  salmon  caught  below  the  bridge  was  better  or  worse 
than  one  caught  above  ;  and  as  that  weighty  question  could  only 
be  decided  by  practical  experiment,  Mr.  St.  Leger  vowed  that  as 
the  bridge  had  given  him  a  good  dinner,  he  would  give  the  bridge 
one  ;  offered  a  bet  of  five  pounds  that  he  would  find  them.,  out  of 
the  pool  below  Annery,  as  firm  and  flaky  a  salmon  as  the  Apple- 
dore  one  which  they  had  just  eaten  ;  and  then,  in  the  fulness  of 
his  heart,  invited  the  whole  company  present  to  dine  with  him  at 
Annery  three  days  after,  and  bring  with  them  each  a  wife  or 
dauo-hter  ;  and  Don  Guzman  being  at  table,  he  was  invited,  too. 

So  there  was  a  mighty  feast  in  the  great  hall  at  Annery,  such  as 
had  seldom  been  since  Judge  Hankford  feasted  Edward  the  Fourth 
there  ;  and  while  everyone  was  eating  their  best  and  drinking 
their  worst.  Rose  Salterne  and  Don  Guzman  were  pretending  not 
to  see  each  other,  and  watching  each  other  all  the  more.  But 
Rose,  at  least,  had  to  be  very  careful  of  her  glances  ;  for  not  only 
was  her  father  at  the  table,  but  just  opposite  her  sat  none  other 
than  Messrs.  William  Gary  and  Arthur  St.  Leger,  lieutenants  in 
her  Majesty's  Irish  army,  who  had  returned  on  furlough  a  few 
days  before.  . 

Rose  Salterne  and  the  Spaniard  had  not  exchanged  a  word  m 
the  last  six  months,  though  they  had  met  many  times.  The  Span- 
iard by  no  means  avoided  her  company,  except  in  her  father's 
house  ;  he  only  took  care  to  obey  her  carefully,  by  seeming  always 
unconscious  of  her  presence,  beyond  the  stateliest  of  salutes  at 
enterino-  and  departing.  But  he  took  care,  at  the  same  time,  to 
lay  himtelf  out  to  the  very  best  advantage  whenever  he  was  in  her 
presence  ;  to  be  more  witty,  more  eloquent,  more  romantic,  more 
full  of  wonderful  tales  than  he  ever  yet  had  been.  The  cunning 
Don  had  found  himself  foiled  in  his  first  tactic  ;  and  he  was  now 
trying  another,  and  a  far  more  formidable  one.  In  the  first  place, 
Rose  deserved  a  very  severe  punishment,  for  having  dared  to  re- 
fuse the  love  of  a  Spanish  nobleman  ;  and  what  greater  punish- 
ment could  he  inflict  than  withdrav.-ing  the  honor  of  his  attentions, 
and  the  sunshine  of  his  smiles  ?  There  was  conceit  enough  m 
that  notion,  but  there  was  cunning,  too  ;  tor  none  knew  better 
than  the  Spaniard,  that  women,  like  the  world,  are  pretty  sure  to 
value  a  man  (especially  if  there  be  any  real  worth  in  him)  at  his 


WESTIVARD  HO  >  ..  203 

own  price  ;  and  that  the  more  he  demands  for  himself,  the  more 
they  will  give  for  him. 

And  now  he  would  put  a  high  price  on  himself,  and  pique  her 
pride,  as  she  was  too  much  accustomed  to  worship,  to  be  won  by 
flattermg  it.  He  might  have  done  that  by  paying  attention  to  some 
one  else  :  but  he  was  too  wise  to  employ  so  coarse  a  method, 
which  might  raise  indignation,  or  disgust,  or  despair  in  Rose's 
heart,  but  would  have  never  brought  her  to  his  feet— as  it  will 
never  bring  any  woman  worth  bringing.  So  he  quietly  and  unob- 
trusively showed  her  that  he  could  do  without  her  ;  and  she,  poor 
fool,  as  she  was  meant  to  do,  began  forthwith  to  ask  herself— why  ? 
What  was  the  hidden  treasure,  what  was  the  reserve  force,  which 
made  him  independent  of  her,  while  she  could  not  say  that  she 
was  independent  of  him  ?  Had  he  a  secret  ?  how  pleasant  to 
know  it '  Some  huge  ambition  ?  how  pleasant  to  share  in  it  ! 
Some  mysterious  knowledge?  how  pleasant  to  learn  it !  Some 
capacity  of  love  beyond  the  common  ?  how  delicious  to  have  it  all 
for  her  own  !  He  must  be  greater,  wiser,  richer-hearted  than  she 
was,  as  well  as  better-born.  Ah,  if  his  wealth  would  but  supply 
her  poverty  !  And  so,  step  by  step,  she  was  being  led  to  sue  in 
forma  pauperis  to  the  very  man  whom  she  had  spurned  when  he 
sued  in  like  form  to  her.  That  temptation  of  having  some  mys- 
terious private  treasure,  of  being  the  priestess  of  some  hidden 
sanctuary,  and  being  able  to  thank  Heaven  that  she  was  not  as 
other  women  are,  was  becoming  fast  too  much  for  Rose,  as  it  is 
too  much  for  most.  For  none  knew  better  than  the  Spaniard  how 
much  more  fond  women  are,  by  the  very  law  of  their  sex,  of  wor- 
shipping than  of  being  worshipped,  and  of  obeying  than  of  being 
obeyed  ,  how  their  coyness,  often  their  scorn,  is  but  a  mask  to 
hide  their  consciousness  of  weakness  ;  and  a  mask,  too,  of  which 
they  themselves  will  often  be  the  first  to  tire. 

And  Rose  was  utterly  tired  of  that  same  mask  as  she  sat  at  table 
at  Annery  that  day  ;  and  Don  Guzman  saw  it  in  her  uneasy  and 
downcast  looks,  and  thinking  (conceited  coxcomb)  that  she  must 
be  by  now  sufficiently  punished,  stole  a  glance  at  her  now  and 
then,  and  was  not  abashed  when  he  saw  that  she  dropped  her  eyes 
when  they  met  his,  because  he  saw  her  silence  and  abstraction  in- 
crease, and  something  like  a  blush  steal  into  her  cheeks.  So  he 
pretended  to  be  as  much  downcast  and  abstracted  as  she  was,  and 
went  on  with  his  glances,  till  he  once  found  her,  poor  thing  look- 
ing at  him  to  see  if  he  was  looking  at  her  ;  and  then  he  knew  his 
prey  was  safe,  and  asked  her,  with  his  eyes,  "  Do  you  forgive  me  ?  " 
and  saw  her  stop  dead  in  her  talk  to  her  next  neighbor,  and  falter, 
and  drop  her  eyes,  and  raise  them  again  after  a  minute  in  search 
of  his,  that  he  might  repeat  the  pleasant  question.  And  then  what 
could  she  do  but  answer  with  all  her  face  and  every  bend  of  her 
pretty  neck,  "  And  do  you  forgive  me  in  turn  ?  " 

Whereon  Don  Guzman  broke  out  jubilant,  like  nightingale  on 
bough,  with  story,  and  jest,  and  repartee  ;  and  became  forthwith 
the  soul  of  the  whole  company,  and  the  most  charming  of  all  cav 


2C4  IVES  TWA  JiD  I/O! 

aliers.  And  poor  Rose  knew  that  she  was  the  cause  of  his  sudden 
change  of  mood,  and  blamed  herself  tor  what  she  had  done,  and 
shuddered  and  blushed  at  her  own  delight,  and  longed  that  the 
feast  was  over  that  she  might  hurry  home  and  hide  herself  alone 
with  sweet  fancies  about  a  love  the  reality  of  which  she  felt  she 
dared  not  face. 

It  was  a  beautiful  sight,  the  great  terrace  at  Annery  that  after- 
noon ;  with  the  smart  dames  in  their  gaudy  dresses  parading  up 
and  down  in  twos  and  threes  before  the  stately  house  ;  or  looking 
down  upon  the  park,  with  the  old  oaks,  and  the  deer,  and  the 
broad  land-locked  river  spread  out  like  a  lake  beneath,  all  bright 
in  the  glare  of  the  midsummer  sun  ;  or  listening  obsequiously  to 
the  two  great  ladies  who  did  the  honors,  Mrs.  St.  Leger  the 
hostess,  and  her  sister-in-law,  fair  Lady  Grenvile.  All  chatted, 
and  laughed,  and  eyed  each  other's  dresses,  and  gossipped  about 
each  other's  husbands  and  servants  :  only  Rose  Salterne  kept 
apart,  and  longed  to  get  into  a  corner  and  laugh  or  cry,  she  knew 
not  which. 

"  Our  pretty  Rose  seems  sad,*'  said  Lady  Grenvile,  coming  up  to 
her.     "  Cheer  up,  child  !  we  want  you  to  come  and  sing  to  us." 

Rose  answered  she  knew  not  what,  and  obeyed  mechanically. 

She  took  the  lute,  and  sat  down  on  a  bench  beneath  the  houses 
while  the  rest  grouped  themselves  round  her. 

"  What  shall  I  sing  ?  " 

"  Let  us  have  your  old  song,  '  Earl  Haldan's  Daughter."* 

Rose  shrank  from  it.  It  was  a  loud  and  dashing  ballad,  which 
chimed  in  but  little  with  her  thoughts  j  and  Frank  had  praised  it 
too,  in  happier  days  long  since  gone  by.  She  thought  of  him, 
and  of  others  and  of  her  pride  and  carelessness  ;  and  the  song 
seemed  ominous  to  her  :  and  yet  for  that  very  reason  she  dared 
not  refuse  to  sing  it,  for  fear  of  suspicion  where  no  one  suspected  ; 
and  so  she  began  perforce — 


*'  It  was  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 

She  look'd  across  the  sea  ; 

She  look'd  across  the  water, 

And  long  and  loud  laugh'd  she; 
*  The  locks  of  six  princesses 

Must  be  my  marriage-fee, 
So  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat! 

Who  comes  a  wooing  me  ?  * 


"  It  was  Earl  Haldan's  daughter, 

She  walk'd  along  the  sand  ; 

When  she  was  aware  of  a  knight  so  iuti 

Come  sailing  to  the  land. 

Hjs sails  were  all  of  velvet, 

His  mast  of  beaten  gold, 
And  *  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boatf 

Who  saileth  here  f  o  bold  ?  ' 


to$ 


WESTWARD  HO  t 


3- 


* '  The  locks  of  five  princesies 

I  won  beyond  the  sea  ; 

I  shore  their  golden  tresses, 

To  fringe  a  cloak  for  thee. 

One  handful  yet  is  wanting. 

But  one  of  all  the  tale  •, 
So  hey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat! 

Furl  up  thy  velvet  sail !  ' 


*'  He  leapt  into  the  water, 

That  rover  young  and  bold ; 

He  gript  Earl  Haldan'i  daughter 

He  shore  her  locks  of  gold  ; 
*  Go  weep,  go  weep,  proud  maiden. 

The  tale  is  full  to-day. 
Now  Iiey  bonny  boat,  and  ho  bonny  boat ! 

Sail  Westward -ho,  and  away  I  ' 

As  she  ceased;  a  measured  voice,  with  a  foreign  accent,  thrilled 
through  her. 

"  In  the  East,  they  say  the  nightingale  sings  to  the  rose  ;  Devon, 
more  happy,  has  nightingale  and  rose  in  one." 

"  We  have  no  nightingales  in  Devon,  Don  Guzman,"  said  Lady 
Grenvile  ;  "  but  our  little  forest  thrushes  sing,  as  you  hear,  sweetly 
enough  to  content  any  ear.  But  what  brings  you  away  from  the 
gentlemen  so  early  ?  " 

"These  letters,"  said  he,  "which  have  just  been  put  into  my 
hand  ;  and  as  they  call  me  home  to  Spain,  I  was  loth  to  lose  a 
moment  of  that  delightful  company  from  which  I  must  part  so 
soon." 

"  To  Spain  ?  "  asked  half-a-dozen  voices  :  for  the  Don  was  a  gen- 
eral favorite. 

"  Yes,  and  thence  to  the  Indies,  My  ransom  has  arrived,  and 
with  it  the  promise  of  an  office,  I  am  to  be  Governor  of  La  Guayr^ 
in  Caraccas.     Congratulate  me  on  my  promotion." 

A  mist  was  over  Rose's  eyes.  The  Spaniard's  voice  was  hard 
and  flippant.  Did  he  care  for  her  after  all  ?  And  if  he  did,  was 
it  nevertheless  hopeless  ?  How  her  cheeks  glowed  !  Everybody 
must  see  it  !  Anything  to  turn  away  their  attention  from  her,  and 
in  that  nervous  haste  which  makes  people  speak,  and  speak  fool- 
ishly too,  just  because  they  ought  to  be  silent,  she  asked — 

"  And  where  is  La  Guayra  .''  " 

"  Half  round  the  world,  on  the  coast  of  the  Spanish  Main.  The 
loveliest  place  on  earth,  and  the  loveliest  governor's  house,  in  a 
forest  of  palms  at  the  foot  of  a  mountain  eight  thousand  feet  high  : 
I  shall  only  want  a  wife  there  to  be  in  paradise." 

"  I  don't  doubt  that  you  may  persuade  some  fair  lady  of  Seville 
to  accompany  you  thither,"  said  Lady  Grenvile. 

"  Thanks,  gracious  Madam  :  but  the  truth  is.  that  since  I  have 
had  the  bliss  of  knowing  English  ladies,  I  have  begun  to  think  that 
they  are  the  only  ones  on  earth  vvorth  wooing." 


2o6  WESTWARD  HOI 

"  A.  thousand  thanks  for  the  compliment ;  but  I  fear  none  of  our 
free  English  maidens  would  like  to  submit  to  the  guardianship  of 
a  duenna.  Eh.  Rose  ?  how  should  you  like  to  be  kept  under 
lock  and  key  all  day  by  an  ugly  old  woman  with  a  horn  on  her 
forehead  ?  " 

Poor  Rose  turned  so  scarlet  that  Lady  Grenvile  knew  her  secret 
on  the  spot,  and  would  have  tried  to  turn  the  conversation  :  but 
before  she  could  speak,  some  burgher's  wife  blundered  out  a  com- 
monplace about  the  jealousy  of  Spanish  husbands  ;  and  another, 
to  make  matters  better,  giggled  out  something  more  true  than  del- 
icate about  West  Indian  masters  and  fair  slaves. 

"  Ladies,"  said  Don  Guzman,  reddening,  "  believe  me  that  these 
are  but  the  calumnies  of  ignorance  If  we  be  more  jealous  than 
other  nations,  it  is  because  we  love  more  passionately.  If  some 
of  us  abroad  are  profligate,  it  is  because  they,  poor  men,  have  no 
helpmate,  which,  like  the  amethyst,  keeps  it  wearer  pure.  I 
could  tell  you  stories,  ladies,  of  the  constancy  and  devotion  of 
Spanish  husbands,  even  in  the  Indies,  as  strange  as  ever  romancel 
invented." 

"  Can  you  ?     Then  we  challenge  you  to  give  us  one  at  least." 

"  I  fear  it  would  be  too  long.  Madam." 

"  The  longer  the  more  pleasant,  Sefior.  How  can  we  spend  an 
nour  better  this  afternoon,  while  the  gentlemen  within  are  finish- 
ing their  wine  ?  " 

Story-telling,  in  those  old  times,  when  books  (and  authors  also, 
lucky  for  the  public)  were  rarer  than  now,  was  a  common  amuse- 
ment ;  and  as  the  Spaniard's  accomplishments  in  that  line  were 
well  known,  all  the  ladies  crowded  round  him  ;  the  servants 
brought  chairs  and  benches  ;  and  Don  Guzman,  taking  his  seat 
in  the  midst,  with  a  proud  humility,  at  Lady  Grenvile's  feet, 
began  — 

"Your  perfections,  fair  and  illustrious  ladies,  must  doubt- 
less have  heard,  ere  now,  how  Sebastian  Cabota,  some-forty-five 
years  ago,  sailed  forth  with  a  commission  from  my  late  master,  the 
Emperor  Charles  the  Fifth,  to  discover  the  golden  lands  of  Tar- 
shish,  Ophir,  and  Cipango  ;  but  being  in  want  of  provisions, 
stopped  short  at  the  mouth  of  that  mighty  South  American  river 
to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  sailing  up  it. 
discovered  the  fair  land  of  Paraguay.  But  you  may  not  have  heard 
how,  on  the  bank  of  that  river,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Terceiro, 
he  built  a  fort  which  men  still  call  Cabot's  Tower  ;  nor  have  you, 
perhaps,  heard  of  the  strange  tale  which  will  ever  make  the  tower 
a  sacred  spot  to  all  true  lovers. 

"  For  when  he  returned  to  Spain  the  year  after,  he  left  in  his 
tower  a  garrison  of  a  hundred  anct  twenty  men,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Nufiode  Lara,  Ruiz  Moschera,  and  Sebastian  da  Hurtado, 
old  friends  and  fellow-soldiers  of  my  invincible  grandfather  Don 
Ferdinando  da  Soto  ;  and  with  them  a  jewel,  than  which  Spain 
never  possessed  one  more  precious.  Lucia  Miranda,  the  wife  of 
Hurtado,  who,  famed  in  the  Court  of  the  Emperor  no  less  for  her 


IVESTIVAKD  HO  i 


207 


wisdom  and  modesty  than  for  her  unrivalled  beauty,  had  thrown 
up  all  the  pomp  and  ambition  of  a  palace,  to  marry  a  poor  adven- 
turer, and  to  encounter  with  him  the  hardships  of  a  voyage  round 
the  world.  Mangora,  the  Cacique  of  the  neighboring  Timbuez 
Indians  (with  whom  Lara  had  contrived  to  establish  a  friend- 
ship), cast  his  eyes  on  this  fair  creature,  and  no  sooner  saw  than 
he  coveted  ;  no  sooner  coveted  than  he  plotted,  with  the  devilish 
subtilty  of  a  savage,  to  seize  by  force  what  he  knew  he  could  never 
gain  by  right.  She  soon  found  out  his  passion  (she  was  wise 
enough — what  every  woman  is  not — to  know  when  she  is  loved), 
and  telling  her  husband,  kept  as  much  as  she  could  out  of  her  new 
lover's  sight  ;  while  the  savage  pressed  Hurtado  to  come  and  visit 
him,  and  to  bring  his  lady  with  him.  Hurtado,  suspecting  the 
snare,  and  yet  fearing  to  offend  the  Cacique,  excused  himself 
courteously  on  the  score  of  his  soldier's  duty  ;  and  the  savage, 
mad  with  desire  and  disappointment,  began  plotting  against 
Hurtado's  life. 

"So  went  on  several  weeks,  till  food  grew  scarce,  and  Don 
Hurtado  and  Don  Ruiz  Moschera,  with  fifty  soldiers,  were  sent  up 
the  river  on  a  foraging  party.  Mangora  saw  his  opportunity,  and 
leapt  at  it  forthwith. 

"  The  tower,  ladies,  as  I  have  heard  from  those  who  have  seen 
it,  stands  on  a  knoll  at  the  meeting  of  the  two  rivers,  while  on  the 
land  side  stretches  a  dreary  marsh,  covered  with  tall  ^rass  and 
bushes  ;  a  fit  place  for  the  ambuscade  of  four  thousand  Indians, 
which  Mangora,  with  devilish  cunning,  placed  around  the  tower, 
while  he  himself  went  boldly  up  to  it,  followed  by  thirty  men,  laden 
with  grain,  Iruit.  game,  and  all  the  delicacies  which  his  forests  could 
afford. 

"  There,  with  a  smiling  face,  he  told  the  unsuspecting  Lara  his 
sorrow  for  the  Spaniard's  want  of  food  ;  besought  him  to  accept 
the  provision  he  had  brought,  and  was,  as  he  had  expected,  in- 
vited by  Lara  to  come  in  and  taste  the  wines  of  Spain. 

"  In  went  he  and  his  thirty  fellow-bandits,  and  the  feast  con- 
tinued, with  songs  and  libations,  far  into  the  night,  while  Mangora 
often  looked  round,  and  at  last  boldly  asked  for  the  fair  Miranda  : 
but  she  had  shut  herself  into  her  lodging,  pleading  illness. 

"  A  plea,  fair  ladies,  which  little  availed  that  hapless  c'ame  :  for 
no  sooner  had  the  Spaniards  retired  to  rest,  leaving  (by  I  know 
not  what  madness)  Mangora  and  his  Indians  within,  than  they 
were  awakened  by  the  cry  of  fire,  the  explosion  of  their  magazine, 
and  the  inward  rush  of  the  four  thousand  from  the  marsh  outside. 

"  Why  pain  your  gentle  ears  with  details  of  slaughter  ?  A  few 
fearful  minutes  sufficed  to  exterminate  my  bewildered  and  unarmed 
countrymen,  to  bind  the  only  survivors,  Miranda  (innocent  cau^e 
of  the  whole  tragedy)  and  four  other  women  with  their  infants, 
and  to  lead  them  away  in  triumph  across  the  forest  towards  the 
Indian  town. 

"  Stunned  by  the  suddenness  of  the  evils  which  had  passed,  and 
still  more  by  the  thought  of  those  worse  which  v:ere  to  come  {•:\.% 


2o8  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

she  too  well  foresaw),  Miranda  travelled  all  night  through  the 
forest,  and  was  brought  in  triumph  at  day-dawn  before  the  Indian 
king  to  receive  her  doom.  Judge  of  her  astonishment,  when,  on 
looking  up,  she  saw  that  he  was  not  Mangora. 

"  A  ray  of  hope  flashed  across  her,  and  she  asked  where  he  was. 

"  'He  was  slain  last  night,'  said  the  king  ;  '  and  I  his  brother 
Siripa,  am  now  Cacique  of  the  Timbuez.' 

"  It  was  true  ;  Lara,  maddened  with  drink,  rage,  and  wounds, 
had  caught  up  his  sword,  rushed  into  the  thick  of  the  fight,  singled 
out  the  traitor,  and  slain  him  on  the  spot  ;  and  then  forgetting 
safety  in  revenge,  had  continued  to  plunge  his  sword  into  the 
corpse,  heedless  of  the  blows  of  the  savages,  till  he  fell  pierced 
with  a  hundred  wounds. 

"A  ray  of  hope,  as  I  said,  flashed  across  the  wretched  Miranda 
for  a  moment ;  but  the  next  she  found  that  she  had  been  freed  from 
one  bandit  only  to  be  delivered  to  another. 

"'Yes,'  said  the  new  king  in  broken  Spanish;  'my  brother 
played  a  bold  stake,  and  lost  it  ;  but  it  was  well  worth  the  risk, 
and  he  showed  his  wisdom  thereby.  You  cannot  be  his  queen 
now  :  you  must  content  yourself  with  being  mine.' 

"  Miranda,  desperate,  answered  him  with  every  fierce  taunt 
which  she  could  invent  against  his  treachery  and  his  crime  ;  and 
asked  him,  how  he  came  to  dream  that  the  wife  of  a  Christian 
Spaniard  would  condescend  to  become  the  mistress  of  a  heathen 
savage  ;  hoping,  unhappy  lady,  to  exasperate  him  into  killing  her 
on  the  spot.  But  in  vain  ;  she  only  prolonged  thereby  her  own 
misery.  For,  whether  it  was,  ladies,  that  the  novel  sight  of  divine 
virtue  and  beauty  awed  (as  it  may  have  awed  me  ere  now),  where 
it  had  just  before  maddened  ;  or  whether  some  dream  crossed  the 
savage  (as  it  may  have  crossed  me  ere  now),  that  he  could  make  the 
the  wisdom  of  a  mortal  angel  help  his  ambition,  as  well  as  her  beauty 
his  happiness  ;  or  whether  (which  I  will  never  believe  of  one  of  those 
dark  children  of  the  devil,  though  I  can  boldly  assert  it  of  myself) 
some  spark  of  boldness  within  him  made  him  too  proud  to  take  by 
force  what  he  could  not  win  by  persuasion,  certain  it  is,  as  the  Indi- 
ans themselves  confessed  afterwards,  that  the  savage  only  answered 
her  by  smiles  ;  and  bidding  his  men  unbind  her,  told  her  that  she 
was  no  slave  of  his,  and  that  it  only  lay  with  her  to  become  the 
sovereign  of  him  and  all  his  vassals:  assigned  her  a  hut  to  her- 
self, loaded  her  with  savage  ornaments,  and  for  several  weeks 
treated  her  with  no  less  courtesy  (so  miraculous  is  the  power  of 
love)  than  if  he  had  been  a  cavalier  of  Castile. 

"  Three  months  and  more,  ladies,  as  I  have  heard,  passed  in 
thrs  misery,  and  every  day  Miranda  grew  more  desperate  of  all 
deliverance,  and  saw  staring  her  in  the  face,  nearer  and  nearer, 
some  hideous  and  shameful  end  ;  when  one  day  going  down  with 
the  wives  of  the  Cacique  to  draw  water  in  the  river,  she  saw 
on  the  opposite  bank  a  white  man  in  a  tattered  Spanish  dress,  with 
a  drawn  sword  in  his  hand  ;  who  had  no  sooner  espied  her,  than 
shrieking  her  name,  he  plunged   into   the   stream,  swam  across. 


WESTIVARD  HO, 


209 


landed  at  her  feet,  and  clasped  her  in  his  arms.  It  was  no  other, 
ladies,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  than  Don  Sebastian  himself, 
who  had  returned  with  Ruiz  Moschera  to  the  tower,  and  found  it 
only  a  charred  and  bloodstained  heap  of  ruins. 

"He  guessed,  by  inspiration,  what  had  passed,  and  whither  his 
iady  was  gone  ;  and  without  a  thought  of  danger,  like  a  true 
Spanish  gentleman,  and  a  true  Spanish  lover,  darted  off  alone 
into  the  forest,  and  guided  only  by  the  inspiration  of  his  own 
loyal  heart,  found  again  his  treasure,  and  found  it  still  unstained 
and  his  own. 

"  Who  can  describe  the  joy,  and  who  again  the  terror,  of  their 
meeting  ?  The  Indian  women  had  fled  in  fear,  and  for  the  short 
ten  minutes  that  the  lovers  were  left  together,  life,  to  be  sure,  was 
one  long  kiss.  But  what  to  do  they  knew  not.  To  go  inland  was 
to  rush  into  the  enemy's  arms.  He  would  have  swum  with  her 
across  the  river,  and  attempted  it  ;  but  his  strength,  worn  out  with 
hunger  and  travel,  failed  him  ;  he  drew  her  with  difficulty  on  shore 
again,  and  sat  down  by  her  to  await  their  doom  with  prayer, 
the  first  and  last  resource  of  virtuous  ladies,  as  weapons  are  of 
cavaliers. 

"Alas  for  them  !  May  no  true  lovers  ever  have  to  weep  over 
joys  so  soon  lost,  after  having  been  so  hardly  found  !  For,  ere  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  was  passed,  the  Indian  women,  who  had  fled 
at  his  approach,  returned  with  all  the  warriors  of  the  tribe.  Don 
Sebastian,  desperate,  would  fain  have  slain  his  wife  and  himself 
on  the  spot ;  but  his  hand  sank  again — and  whose  would  not  but 
an  Indian's  ? — as  he  raised  it  against  that  fair  and  faithful  breast  ; 
in  a  few  minutes  he  was  surrounded,  seized  from  behind,  drsarmed, 
and  carried  in  triumph  into  the  village.  And  if  you  cannot  feel 
for  him  in  that  misery,  fair  ladies,  who  have  known  no  sorrow,  yet 
I,  a  prisoner,  can." 

Don  Guzman  paused  a  moment,  as  if  overcome  by  emotion  ;  and 
I  will  not  say  that,  as  he  paqsed,  he  did  not  look  to  see  if  Rose 
Salterne's  eyes  were  on  him,  as  indeed  they  were. 

"Yes,  I  can  feel  with  him;  I  can  estimate  better  than  you, 
ladies,  the  greatness  of  that  love  which  could  submit  to  captiv- 
ity ;  to  the  loss  of  his  sword  ;  to  the  loss  of  that  honor,  which, 
next  to  God  and  his  mother,  is  the  true  Spaniard's  deity.  There 
are  those  who  have  suffered  that  shame  at  the  hands  of  valiant 
gentlemen"  (and  again  Don  Guzman  looked  up  at  Rose),  "and 
yet  would  have  sooner  died  a  thousand  deaths  ;  but  he  dared  to 
endure  it  from  the  hands  of  villains,  savages,  heathens  ;  for  he  was 
a  true  Spaniard,  and  therefore  a  true  lover  :  but  I  will  go  on 
with  my  tale. 

"  This  wretched  pair,  then,  as  I  have  been  told  by  Ruiz 
Moschera  himself,  stood  together  before  the  Cacique.  He,  like 
a  true  child  of  the  devil,  comprehending  in  a  moment  who  Don 
Sebastian  was,  laughed  with  delight  at  seeing  his  rival  in  his 
power,  and  bade  bind  him  at  once  to  a  tree,  and  shoot  him  to 
death  with  arrows. 


2 1  o  IVES  TWA  RD  HO  / 

*'  But  the  poor  Miranda  sprang  forward,  and  threw  herself  at 
his  feet,  and  with  piteous  entreaties  besought  for  mercy  from  him 
who  knew  no  mercy. 

"  And  yet  love  and  the  sight  of  her  beauty,  and  the  terrible  elo- 
quence of  her  words,  while  she  invoked  on  his  head  the  just  ven- 
geance of  Heaven,  wrought  even  on  his  heart :  nevertheless  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  her,  who  had  so  long  scorned  him,  a  suppliant 
at  his  feet,  was  too  delicate  to  be  speedily  forgone  ;  and  not  till 
she  was  all  but  blind  with  tears,  and  dumb  with  agony  of  pleading, 
did  he  make  answer,  that  if  she  would  consent  to  become  his  wife, 
her  husband's  life  should  be  spared.  She,  in  her  haste  and  madness, 
sobbed  out  desperately  I  know  not  what  consent.  Don  Sebastian, 
who  understood,  if  not  the  language,  still  the  meaning  (so  had 
love  quickened  his  understanding),  shrieked  to  her  not  to  lose  her 
precious  soul  for  the  sake  of  his  worthless  body  ;  that  death  was 
nothing  compared  to  the  horror  of  that  shame  ;  and  such  other 
words  as  became  a  noble  and  valiant  gentleman.  She,  shuddering 
now  at  her  own  frailty,  would  have  recalled  her  promise  ;  but 
Siripa  kept  her  to  it,  vowing,  if  she  disappointed  him  again,  such 
a  death  to  her  husband  as  made  her  blood  run  cold  to  hear  of  ; 
and  the  wretched  woman  could  only  escape  for  the  present  by  some 
story,  that  it  was  not  the  custom  of  her  race  to  celebrate  nuptials 
till  a  month  after  the  betrothment  ;  that  the  anger  of  Heaven 
would  be  on  her,  unless  she  first  performed  in  solitude  certain  re- 
ligious rites  ;  and  lastly,  that  if  he  dared  to  lay  hands  on  her 
husband,  she  would  die  so  resolutely,  that  every  drop  of  water 
should  be  deep  enough  to  drown  her,  every  thorn  sharp  enough  to 
stab  her  to  the  heart :  till  fearing  lest  by  demanding  too  much  he 
should  lose  all,  and  awed  too,  as  he  had  been  at  first  by  a  voice 
and  looks  which  seemed  to  be,  in  comparison  with  his  own,  divine, 
Siripa  bade  her  go  back  to  her  hut,  promising  her  husband  life  ; 
but  promising  too,  that  if  he  ever  found  the  two  speaking  together, 
even  for  a  moment,  he  would  pour  out  on  them  both  all  the  cruelty 
of  those  tortures  in  which  the  devil,  their  father,  has  so  perfectly 
instructed  the  Indians. 

"  So  Don  Sebastian,  being  stripped  of  his  garments,  and  painted 
after  the  Indian  fashion,  was  set  to  all  mean  and  toilsome  work, 
amid  the  buffetings  and  insults  of  the  whole  village.  And  this, ladies, 
he  endured  without  a  murmur,  ay,  took  delight  in  enduring  it, 
as  he  would  have  endured  things  worse  a  thousand  times,  only  for 
the  sake,  like  a  true  lover  as  he  was,  of  being  near  the  goddess 
whom  he  worshipped,  and  of  seeing  her  now  and  then  afar  off, 
happy  enough  to  be  repaid  even  by  that  for  all  indignities. 

"  And  yet,  you  who  have  loved  may  well  guess,  as  I  can,  that  ere 
a  week  had  passed,  Don  Sebastian  and  the  Lady  Miranda  had 
found  means,  in  spite  of  all  spiteful  eyes,  to  speak  to  each  other 
once  and  again  ;  and  to  assure  each  other  of  their  love  ;  even  to 
talk  of  escape,  before  the  month's  grace  should  be  expired.  And 
Miranda,  whose  heart  was  full  of  courage  as  long  as  she  felt  her 


WESTIVARD  HO!  211 

husband  near  her,  went  so  far  as  to  plan  a  means  ot  escape  which 
seemed  possible  and  hopeful, 

"  For  the  youngest  wife  of  the  Cacique,  who,  till  Miranda's  com- 
ing, had  been  his  favorite,  often  talked  with  the  captive,  insulting 
and  tormenting  her  in  her  spite  and  jealousy,  and  receiving  in  return 
only  gentle  and  conciliatory  words.  And  one  day  when  the  woman 
had  been  threatening  to  kill  her,  Miranda  took  courage  to  say, 
'  Do  you  fancy  that  I  shall  not  be  as  glad  to  be  rid  of  your  husbanS, 
as  you  to  be  rid  of  me  ?  Why  kill  me  needlessly,  when  all  that 
you  require  is  to  get  me  forth  of  the  place  ?  Out  of  sight,  out  of 
mind.  When  I  am  gone,  your  husband  will  soon  forget  me,  and 
you  will  be  his  favorite  as  before.*  Soon,  seeing  that  the  girl  vv^as 
inclined  to  listen,  she  went  on  to  tell  her  of  her  love  to  Don  Sebas- 
tian, entreating  and  abjuring  her,  by  the  love  which  she  bore  the 
Cacique,  to  pity  and  help  her  ;  and  so  won  upon  the  girl,  that  she 
consented  to  be  privy  to  Miranda's  escape,  and  even  offered  to 
give  her  an  opportunity  of  speaking  to  her  husband  about  it  ;  and 
at  last  was  so  won  over  by  Miranda,  that  she  consented  to  keep 
all  intruders  out  of  the  way,  while  Don  Sebastian  that  very  night 
visited  Miranda  in  her  hut. 

"  The  hapless  husband,  thirsting  for  his  love,  was  in  that  hut, 
be  sure,  the  moment  that  kind  darkness  covered  his  steps  : — and 
what  cheer  these  two  made  of  each  other,  when  they  once  found 
themselves  together,  lovers  must  fancy  for  themselves  :  but  so  it 
was,  that  after  many  a  leave-taking,  there  was  no  departure  ;  and 
when  the  night  was  well-nigh  past,  Sebastian  and  Miranda  were 
still  talking  together,  as  if  they  had  never  met  before  and  would 
never  meet  again. 

"  But  it  befell,  ladies  (would  that  I  was  not  speaking  the  truth, 
but  inventing,  that  I  might  have  invented  something  merrier  for 
your  ears),  it  befell  that  very  night,  that  the  young  wife  of  the 
Cacique,  whose  heart  was  lifted  up  with  the  thought  that  her  rival 
was  now  at  last  disposed  of,  tried  all  her  wiles  to  win  back  her 
faithless  husband  ;  but  in  vain.  He  only  answered  her  caresses 
by  indifference,  then  by  contempt,  then  insults,  then  blows  (for 
with  the  Indians,  woman  is  always  a  slave,  or  rather  a  beast  of 
burden),  and  went  on  to  draw  such  cruel  comparisons  between 
her  dark  skin  and  the  glorious  fairness  of  the  Spanish  lady,  that 
the  wretched  girl,  beside  herself  with  rage,  burst  out  at  last  with 
her  ov/n  secret.  '  Fool  that  you  are  to  madden  yourself  about  a 
stranger  who  prizes  one  hair  of  her  Spanish  husband's  head  more 
than  your  whole  body  !  Much  does  your  new  bride  care  for  you  \ 
She  is  at  this  moment  in  her  husband's  arms  ! " 

"  The  Cacique  screamed  furiously  to  know  what  she  meant  ; 
and  she,  her  jealousy  and  hate  of  the  guiltless  lady  boiling  over 
once  for  all,  bade  him,  if  he  doubted  her,  go  see  for  himself. 

"  What  use  of  many  words  ?  They  were  taken.  Love,  or  rather 
lust,  repelled,  turned  in  a  momein  into  devilish  hate  ;  and  th;e 
Cacique,  summoning  his  Indians,  bade  them  bind  the  wretched 
Don  Sebastian  to  a  tree,  and  there  inflicted  on  him  the  lingering 


212  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

death  to  which  he  had  at  first  been  doomed.  For  Miranda  he  had 
more  exquisite  cruelty  in  store  And  shall  I  tell  it  ?  Yes,  ladies, 
for  the  honor  of  love  and  of  Spain,  arwi  for  a  justification  of  those 
cruelties  against  the  Indians  which  are  so  falsely  imputed  to  our 
most  Christian  nation,  it  shall  be  told  :  he  delivered  the  wretched 
lady  over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  his  wives  ;  and  what  they  were 
is  neither  fit  for  me  to  tell,  nor  you  to  hear. 

"  The  two  wretched  lovers  cast  themselves  upon  each  other  s 
necks  ;  drank  each  other's  salt  tears  with  the  last  kisses  ;  accused 
themselves  as  the  cause  of  each  other's  death  ;  and  then  rising  above 
fear  and  grief,  broke  out  into  triumph  at  thus  dying  for  and  with 
each  other;  and  proclaiming  themselves  the  martyrs  of  love,  com- 
mended their  souls  to  God,  and  then  stepped  joyfully  and  proudly 
to  their  doom." 

"  And  what  was  that  ?  "  asked  half-a-dozen  trembling  voices. 

•'  Don  Sebastian,  as  I  have  said,  was  shot  to  death  with  arrows  ; 
but  as  for  the  Lady  Miranda,  the  wretches  themselves  confessed 
afterwards,  when  they  received  due  vengeance  for  their  crimes  (as 
they  did  receive  it),  that  after  all  shameful  and  horrible  indignities, 
she  was  bound  to  a  tree,  and  there  burned  slowly  in  her  husband's 
sight,  stifling  her  shrieks  lest  they  should  wring  his  heart  by  one 
additional  pang,  and  never  taking  her  eyes,  to  the  last,  off  that  be- 
loved face.  And  so  died  (but  not  unavenged)  Sebastian  de  Hur- 
tado  and  Lucia  Miranda, — a  Spanish  husband  and  a  Spanish  wife." 

The  Don  paused,  and  the  ladies  were  silent  a  while  ;  for  indeed, 
there  was  many  a  gentle  tear  to  be  dried  ;  but  at  last  Mrs.  St. 
Leger  spoke,  half  it  seemed,  to  turn  off  the  too  painful  impression 
of  the  over-true  tale,  the  outlines  whereof  may  still  be  read  in  old 
Charlevoix. 

"  You  have  told  a  sad  and  a  noble  tale,  sir,  and  toM  it  well  ;  but 
though  your  stoiy  Vv^as  to  set  forth  a  perfect  husband,  it  has  ended 
rather  by  setting  forth  a  perfect  wife." 

"  And  if  I  have  forgotten.  Madam,  in  praising  her  to  praise  him 
also,  have  I  not  done  that  which  would  have  best  pleased  his  hero- 
ical  and  chivalrous  spirit  ?  He,  be  sure,  would  have  forgotten  his 
own  virtue  in  the  light  of  hers  ;  and  he  would  have  wished  me,  I 
doubt  not,  to  do  the  same  also.  And  beside.  Madam,  where  ladies 
are  the  theme,  who  has  time  or  heart  to  cast  one  thought  upon 
their  slaves  ?  "  And  the  Don  made  one  of  his  deliberate  and  highlf- 
finished  bows. 

"Don  Guzman  is  courtier  enough,  as  far  as  compliments  go," 
said  one  of  the  young  ladies  ;  "but  it  was  hardly  courtier-like  of 
him  to  find  us  so  sad  an  entertainment,  upon  a  merry  evening." 

"  Yes,"  said  another  ;  "  we  must  ask  him  for  no  more  stories." 

"  Or  songs  either,"  said  a  third.  "  I  fear  he  knows  none  but 
about  forsaken  maidens  and  despairing  lovers." 

"  I  know  nothing  at  all  about  forsaken  ladies,  Madam  ;  because 
ladies  are  never  forsaken  in  Spain." 

""  Nor  about  lovers  despairing  there,  I  suppose  .''  " 
-     "That    good    opinion    of  ourselves,   Madam,  with    which    you 


WESTWARD  HO  t  '  213 

English  are  pleased  to  twit  us  now  and  then,  always  prevents  so 
sad  a  state  o{  mind.  For  myself,  I  have  had  little  to  do  with  love  ; 
but  I  have  had  still  less  to  do  with  despair,  and  intend,  by  help  of 
Heaven,  to  have  less." 

"  You  are  valiant,  sir." 

"  You  would  not  have  me  a  coward,  Madam  ?  "  and  so  forth. 

Nov/  all  this  time  Don  Guzman  had  been  talking  at  Rose  Sal- 
terne,  and  giving  her  the  very  slightest  hint,  every  now  and  then, 
that  he  was  talking  at  her  ;  till  the  poor  girl's  face  was  almost 
crimson  with  pleasure,  and  she  gave  herself  up  to  the  spell.  He 
loved  her  still  ;  perhaps  he  knew  that  she  loved  him  :  he  must 
know  some  day.  She  felt  now  that  there  was  no  escape  ;  she  was 
almost  glad  to  think  that  there  was  none. 

The  dark,  handsome,  stately  face  ;  the  melodious  voice,  with  its 
rich  Spanish  accent  ;  the  quiet  grace  of  the  gestures  ;  the  wild 
pathos  of  the  story  ;  even  the  measured  and  inflated  style  as  of  one 
speaking  of  another  and  a  loftier  world  ;  the  chivalrous  respect 
and  admiration  for  woman,  and  for  faithfulness  to  woman — what' 
a  man  he  was  !  If  he  had  been  pleasant  heretofore,  he  was  now 
enchanting.  All  the  ladies  round  felt  that,  she  could  see,  as  much 
as  she  herself  did  ;  no,  not  quite  as  much,  she  hoped.  She  surely 
understood  him,  and  felt  for  his  loneliness  more  than  any  of  them. 
Had  she  not  been  feeling  for  it  through  long  and  sad  months  ? 
But  it  was  she  whom  he  was  thinking  of,  she  whom  he  was  speak- 
ing to,  all  along.  Oh,  why  had  the  tale  ended  so  soon  ?  She 
would  gladly  have  sat  and  wept  her  eyes  out  till  midnight  over  one 
melodious  misery  after  another  ;  but  she  was  quite  wise  enough  to 
keep  her  secret  to  herself ;  and  sat  behind  the  rest,  with  greedy 
eyes  and  demure  lips,  full  of  strange  and  new  happiness — or 
misery  ;  she  knew  not  which  to  call  it. 

In  the  meanwhile,  as  it  was  ordained,  Gary  could  see  and  hear 
through  the  window  of  the  hall  a  good  deal  of  what  was  going  on. 

"  How  that  Spanish  crocodile  ogles  the  Rose  !  "  whispered  he  to 
young  St.  Leger. 

"  What  wonder  ?     He  is  not  the  first  by  many  a  one." 

"  Ay — but — By  heaven,  she  is  making  side-shots  at  him  with 
those  languishing  eyes  of  hers,  the  little  baggage  !  " 

"What  wonder?  He  is  not  the  first,  say  I,  and  won't  be  the 
last.     Pass  the  wine,  man." 

"  I  have  had  enough  ;  between  sack  and  singing,  my  head  is  as 
mazed  as  a  dizzy  sheep.     Let  me  slip  out." 

"  Not  yet,  man  ;  remember  you  are  bound  for  one  song  more." 

So  Gary,  against  his  will,  sat  and  sang  another  song  ;  and  in  the 
meanwhile  the  party  had  broken  up,  and  wandered  away  by 
twos  and  threes,  among  trim  gardens  and  pleasaunces,  and  clipped 
yew-walks — 

•'  Where  west-winds  with  musky  wing 
About  the  cedarn  alleys  llinp 
Nard  and  cassia's  balmv  smells " 


2 1 4  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

admiring  the  beauty  of  that  stately  place,  long  since  passed  into 
other  hands,  and  fallen  to  decay  ;  but  then  (if  old  Prince  speaks 
true)  one  of  the  noblest  mansions  of  the  West. 

At  last  Cary  got  away  and  out ;  sober,  but  just  enough  flushed 
with  wine  to  be  ready  for  any  quarrel ;  and  luckily  for  him,  had 
not  gone  twenty  yards  along  the  great  terrace  before  he  met  Lady 
Grenvile. 

"  Has  your  ladyship  seen  Don  Guzman  ?  " 

"Yes — why,  where  is  he  ?  He  was  with  me  not  ten  minutes 
ago.     You  know  he  is  going  back  to  Spain." 

"Going  !     Has  his  ransom  come  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  with  it  a  governorship  in  the  Indies." 

"  Governorship  !     Much  good  may  it  do  the  governed." 

"  Why  not,  then  t     He  is  surely  a  most  gallant  gentleman." 

"  Gallant  enough — yes,"  said  Cary  carelessly.  "  I  must  find  him, 
and  congratulate  him  on  his  honors." 

"  I  will  help  you  to  find  him,"  said  Lady  Grenvile,  whose 
woman's  eye  and  ear  had  already  suspected  something.  "  Escort 
me,  sir." 

"It  is  but  too  great  an  honor  to  squire  the  Queen  of  Bideford," 
said  Cary,  offering  his  hand. 

"If  I  am  your  queen,  sir,  I  must  be  obeyed,"  answered  she, 
in  a  meaning  tone.  Cary  took  the  hint,  and  went  on  chattering 
cheerfully  enough. 

But  Don  Guzman  was  not  to  be  found  in  garden  or  in  pleas- 
aunce. 

"  Perhaps,"  at  last  said  a  burgher's  wife,  with  a  toss  of  her  head, 
*'your  Ladyship  may  meet  with  him  at  Hankford's  oak." 

"  At  Hankford's  oak  !  what  should  take  him  there  ?  " 

"  Pleasant  company,  I  reckon  "  (with  another  toss).  "  I  heard 
him  and  Mrs.  Salterne  talking  about  the  oak  just  now," 

Cary  turned  pale  and  drew  in  his  breath. 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Lady  Grenvile  quietly.  "  Will  you  walk 
with  me  so  far,  Mr.  Cary  ?  " 

"  To  the  world's  end,  if  your  Ladyship  condescends  so  far." 
And  off  they  went,  Lady  Grenvile  wishing  that  they  were  going  any- 
where  else,  but  afraid  to  let  Cary  go  alone  ;  and  suspecting,  too, 
that  someone  or  other  ought  to  go. 

So  they  went  down  past  the  herds  of  deer,  by  a  trim-kept  path 
into  the  lonely  dell  where  stood  the  fatal  oak  ;  and,  as  they  went. 
Lady  Grenvile,  to  avoid  more  unpleasant  talk,  poured  into  Gary's 
unheeding  ears  the  story  (which  he  probably  had  heard  fifty  times 
before)  how  Old  Chief-justice  Hankford  (whom  some  contra- 
dictory myths  make  the  man  who  committed  Prince  Henry  to 
prison  for  striking  him  on  the  bench),  weary  of  life  and  sickened 
at  the  horrors  and  desolations  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses,  went 
down  to  his  house  at  Annery  there,  and  bade  his  keeper  shoot  any 
man  who,  passing  through  the  deer-park  at  night,  should  refuse 
to  stand  when  challenged  ;  and  then  going  down  into  that  glen 
himself,  and  hiding  himself  beneath  that  oak,  met  willingly  by  his 


WESTWA/^D  HO! 


215 


keeper's  hand  the  death  which  his  own  dared  not  inflict :  but  ere 
the  story  was  half  done,  Gary  grasped  Lady  Grenvile's  hand  so 
tightly  that  she  gave  a  little  shriek  of  pain. 

"  There  they  are  1  "  whispered  he,  heedless  of  her  ;  and  pointed 
to  the  oak,  where,  half  hidden  by  the  tall  fern,  stood  Rose  and  the 
Spaniard. 

Her  head  was  on  his  bosom.  She  seemed  sobbing,  trembling  ; 
he  talking  earnestly  and  passionately  ;  but  Lady  Grenvile's  little 
shriek  made  them  both  look  up.  To  turn  and  try  to  escape  was 
to  confess  all ;  and  the  two,  collecting  themselves  instantly, 
walked  towards  her,  Rose  wishing  herself  fathoms  deep  beneath 
the  earth. 

"  Mind,  sir,"  whispered  Lady  Grenvile  as  they  came  up  ;  "you 
have  seen  nothing." 

"  Madam  ?  " 

*'  If  you  are  not  on  my  ground,  you  are  on  my  brother*s. 
Obey  me  1  " 

Gary  bit  his  lip,  and  bowed  courteously  to  the  Don. 

♦•  I  have  to  congratulate  you,  I  hear,  Sefior,  on  your  approach- 
ing departure." 

"  I  kiss  your  hands,  Sefior,  in  return  ;  but  I  question  whether  it 
be  a  matter  of  congratulation,  considering  all  that  I  leave  behind." 

"So  do  I,"  answered  Gary  bluntly  enough,  and  the  four  walked 
back  to  the  house.  Lady  Grenvile  taking  everything  for  granted 
with  the  most  charming  good  humor,  and  chatting  to  her  three 
silent  companions  till  they  gained  the  terrace  once  more,  and  found 
four  or  five  of  the  gentlemen,  with  Sir  Richard  at  their  head,  pro- 
ceeding to  the  bowling-green. 

Lady  Grenvile,  in  an  agony  of  fear  about  the  quarrel  which  she 
knew  must  come,  would  have  gladly  whispered  five  words  to  her 
husband  :  but  she  dared  not  do  it  before  the  Spaniard,  and 
dreaded,  too,  a  faint  or  a  scream  from  the  Rose,  whose  father 
was  of  the  party.  So  she  walked  on  with  her  fair  prisoner,  com- 
manding Gary  to  escort  them  in,  and  the  Spaniard  to  go  to  the 
bowling-green. 

Gary  obeyed  :  but  he  gave  her  the  slip  the  moment  she  was  in- 
side the  door,  and  then  darted  off  to  the  gentlemen. 

His  heart  was  on  fire  :  all  his  old  passion  for  the  Rose  had 
flashed  up  again  at  the  sight  of  her  with  a  lover  ; — and  that  lover 
a  Spaniard  !  He  would  cut  his  throat  for  him,  if  steel  could  do  it ! 
Only  that  he  recollected  that  Salterne  was  there,  and  shrank  from 
exposing  Rose  ;  and  shrank,  too,  as  every  gentleman  should,  from 
making  a  public  quarrel  in  another  man's  house.  Never  mind. 
Where  there  was  a  will  there  was  a  way.  He  could  get  him  into  a 
corner,  and  quarrel  with  him  privately  about  the  cut  of  his  beard, 
or  the  color  of  his  ribbon.  So  in  he  went ;  and,  luckily  or  un- 
luckily, found  standing  together  apart  from  the  rest,  Sir  Richard, 
the  Don,  and  young  St.  Leger. 

"  Well,  Don  Guzman,  you  have  given  us  wine-bibbers  the  slip 


2 1 6  IVES TWARD  HO  ! 

this  afternoon.     I  hope  you  have  been  well  employed  in  the  mean 
while  ?  " 

"  Delightfully  to  myself,  Sefior,"  said  the  Don,  who,  enraged  at 
being  interrupted,  if  not  discovered,  was  as  ready  to  fight  as  Cary, 
but  disliked,  of  course,  an  explosion  as  much  as  he  did  ;  "  and  to 
others,  I  doubt  not." 

"  So  the  ladies  say,"  quoth  St.  Leger.  "  He  has  been  making 
them  all  cry  with  one  of  his  stories,  and  robbing  us  meanwhile  of 
the  pleasure  we  had  hoped  for  from  some  of  his  Spanish  songs." 

"  The  devil  take  Spanish  songs  !  "  said  Cary,  in  a  low  voice,  but 
loud  enough  for  the  Spaniard,  Don  Guzman  clapt  his  hand  on  his 
sword-hilt  instantly. 

"  Lieutenant  Cary,"  said  Sir  Richard  in  astern  voice  ;  "the  wine 
has  surely  made  you  forget  yourself  !  " 

"As  sober  as  yourself,  most  worshipful  knight  ;  but  if  you  want 
a  Spanish  song,  here's  one  ;  and  a  very  scurvy  one  it  is,  like  its 
subject — 

"  Don  Desperado 

Walked  on  the  Prado, 
And  there  he  met  his  enemy. 

He  pulled  out  a  knife,  a, 

And  let  out  his  life,  a, 
And  fled  for  his  own  across  the  sea* 

And  he  bowed  low  to  the  Spaniard. 

The  insult  was  too  gross  to  require  any  spluttering. 

"  Sefior  Cary,  we  meet  ?  " 

"  I  thank  your  quick  apprehension,  Don  Guzman  Maria 
Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto.  When,  where,  and  with  what 
weapons  ?  " 

"For  God's  sake,  gentlemen  !  Nephew  Arthur,  Cary  is  your 
guest  ;  do  you  know  the  meaning  of  this  ?" 

St.  Leger  was  silent.     Cary  answered  for  him. 

"  An  old  Irish  quarrel,  I  assure  you,  sir.  A  matter  of  years* 
standing.  In  unlacing  the  Seftor's  helmet,  the  evening  that  he 
was  taken  prisoner,  I  was  unlucky  enough  to  twitch  his  mustachios. 
You  recollect  the  fact,  of  course,  Sefior  ? " 

"  Perfectly,"  said  the  Spaniard  ;  and  then,  half-amused  and  half- 
pleased,  in  spite  of  his  bitter  wrath,  at  Gary's  quickness  and  deli- 
cacy in  shielding  Rose,  he  bowed,  and 

"  And  it  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  find  that  he  whom  I  trust  to 
have  the  pleasure  of  killing  to-morrow  morning  is  a  gentleman 
whose  nice  sense  of  honor  renders  him  thoroughly  worthy  of  the 
sword  of  a  De  Soto." 

Cary  bowed  in  return,  while  Sir  Richard,  who  saw  plainly  enough 
that  the  excuse  was  feigned,  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  What  weapons,  Sefior  ?  "  asked  Will  again. 

"  I  should  have  preferred  a  horse  and  pistols,"  said  Don  Guz- 
man after  a  moment,  half  to  himself,  and  in  Spanish  ;  "they  make 
surer  work  of  it  than  bodkins  ;  but"  (with  a  sigh  and  one  of  his 
smiles)  "  beggars  must  not  be  choosers." 


WESTWARD  ho:  2 1 7 

•'  The  best  horse  in  my  stable  is  at  your  service,  Sefior,"  said 
Sir  Richard  Grenvile  instantly. 

"  And  in  mine  also,  Sefior,"  said  Cary  ;  "  and  I  shall  be  happy 
to  allow  you  a  week  to  train  him,  if  he  does  not  answer  at  first  to 
a  Spanish  hand." 

"  You  forget  in  your  courtesy,  gentle  sir,  that  the  insult  being 
with  me,  the  time  lies  with  me  also.  We  wipe  it  off  to-morrow 
morning  with  simple  rapiers  and  daggers.  Who  is  your 
second  1  " 

"  Mr.  Arthur  St.  Leger  here,  Sefior  ;  who  is  yours  ?  " 

The  Spaniard  felt  himself  alone  in  the  world  for  one  moment ; 
rind  then  answered  with  another  of  his  smiles, 

"Your  nation  possesses  the  soul  of  honor.  He  who  fights  an 
Englishman  needs  no  second." 

"  And  he  who  who  fights  among  Englishmen  will  always  find 
one,"  said  Sir  Richard.     "  I  am  the  fittest  second  for  my  guest." 

"  You  only  add  one  more  obligation,  illustrious  cavalier,  to  a 
two-years'  prodigality  of  favors,  which  I  shalt  never  be  able  to 
repay. 

"  But,  Nephew  Arthur,"  said  Grenvile,  "  you  cannot  surely  be 
second  against  your  father's  guest,  and  your  own  uncle." 

"  I  cannot  help  it,  sir  ;  I  am  bound  by  an  oath,  as  Will  can  tell 
you.     I  suppose  you  won't  think  it  necessary  to  let  me  blood  ?  " 

"  You  half  deserve  it,  sirrah  !  "  said  Sir  Richard,  who  was  very 
angry  :  but  the  Don  interposed  quickly. 

"  Heaven  forbid,  Sefiors  !  We  are  no  French  duellists,  who  are 
mad  enough  to  make  four  or  six  lives  answer  for  the  sins  of  two. 
This  gentlemen  and  I  have  quarrel  enough  between  us,  I  suspect, 
to  make  a  right  bloody  encounter." 

"The  dependence  is  good  enough,  sir,"  said  Cary,  licking  his 
sinful  lips  at  the  thought,  "  Very  well.  Rapiers  and  shirts  at 
three  to-morrow  morning — Is  that  the  bill  of  fare  ?  Ask  Sir 
Richard  where,  Atty  ?  It  is  against  punctilio  now  for  me  to  speak 
to  him  till  after  I  am  killed." 

"  On  the  sands  opposite.  The  tide  will  be  out  at  three.  And 
now,  gallant  gentlemen,  let  us  join  the  bowlers." 

And  so  they  went  back  and  spent  a  merry  evening,  all  except 
poor  Rose,  who,  ere  she  went  back,  had  poured  all  her  sorrows 
into  Lady  Grenvile's  ear.  For  the  kind  woman,  knowing  that  she 
was  motherless  and  guileless,  carried  her  off"  into  Mrs.  St.  Leger's 
chamber,  and  there  entreated  her  to  tell  the  truth,  and  heaped  her 
with  pity,  but  with  no  comfort.  For  indeed,  what  comfort  was 
there  to  <rive  ? 


Three  o'clock,  upon  a  still,  pure,  bright  Midsummer  morning. 
A  broad  and  yellow  sheet  of  ribbed  tide-sands,  through  which  the 
shallow  river  wanders  from  one  hill-foot  to  the  other,  whispering 
round  dark  knolls  of  rock,  and  under  low  tree-fringed  cliffs  anq 
banks  of  golden  broom.     A  mile  below,  the  long  bridge  and  the 


riS  WESTWARD  HO f 

white  M^alled  town,  all  sleeping  pearly  in  the  soft  haze,  beneath 
a  cloudless  vault  of  blue.  The  white  glare  of  dawn,  which  last 
night  hung  high  in  the  north-west,  has  travelled  now  to  the  north- 
east, and  above  the  wooded  wall  of  the  hills  the  sky  is  flushing 
with  rose  and  amber. 

A  long  line  of  gulls  goes  wailing  up  inland  ;  the  rooks  from 
Annery  come  cawing  and  sporting  round  the  corner  at  Landcross, 
while  high  above  them  four  or  five  herons  flap  solemnly  along  to 
find  their  breakfast  on  the  shallows.  The  pheasants  and  partridges 
are  clucking  merrily  in  the  long  wet  grass  ;  every  copse  and 
hedgerow  rings  with  the  voice  of  birds  :  but  the  lark,  who  has 
been  singing  since  midnight  in  the  "  blank  height  of  the  dark," 
suddenly  hushes  his  carol  and  drops  headlong  among  the  corn,  as 
a  broad-winged  buzzard  swings  from  some  wooded  peak  into  the 
abyss  of  the  valley,  and  hangs  high-poised  above  the  heavenward 
songster.  The  air  is  full  of  perfume  ;  sweet  clover,  new-mown 
hay,  the  fragrant  breath  of  kine,  the  dainty  scent  of  sea-weed 
wreaths  and  fresh  wet  sand.  Glorious  day,  glorious  place, 
"bridal  of  earth  and  sky,"  decked  well  with  bridal  garlands, 
bridal  perfumes,  bridal  songs, —  What  do  those  four  cloaked 
figures  there  by  the  river  brink,  a  dark  spot  on  the  fair  face  of  the 
summer  morn  t 

Yet  one  is  as  cheerful  as  if  he  too,  like  all  nature  round  him, 
were  going  to  a  wedding  ;  and  that  is  Will  Cary.  He  has  been 
bathing  down  below,  to  cool  his  brain  and  steady  his  hand  ;  and 
he  intends  to  stop  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de 
Soto's  wooing  forever  and  a  day.  The  Spaniard  is  in  a  very  dif- 
erenl  mood  ;  fierce  and  haggard,  he  is  pacing  up  and  down  the 
sand.  He  intends  to  kill  Will  Cary  ;  but  then  }  Will  he  be  the. 
nearer  to  Rose  by  doing  so  ?  Can  he  stay  in  Bideford  ?  Will  she 
go  with  him  ?  Shall  he  stoop  to  stain  his  family  by  marrying  a 
burgher's  daughter  1  It  is  a  confused,  all  but  desperate  business  ; 
and  Don  Guzman  is  certain  but  of  one  thing,  that  he  is  madly  in 
love  with  this  fair  witch,  and  that  if  she  refuse  him,  then,  rather 
than  see  her  accept  another  man,  he  would  kill  her  with  his  own 
hands. 

Sir  Richard  Grenvile  too  is  in  no  very  pleasant  humor,  as  St.  Leger 
soon  discovers,  when  the  two  seconds  begin  whispering  over  their 
arrangements. 

"  We  cannot  have  either  of  them  killed,  Arthur." 

"  Mr.  Cary  swears  he  will  kill  the  Spaniard,  sir." 

"  He  shan't.  The  Spaniard  is  my  guest.  I  am  answerable  for 
him  to  Leigh,  and  for  his  ransom  too.  And  how  can  Leigh  accept 
the  ransom  if  the  man  is  not  given  up  safe  and  sound  ?  They 
Avon't  pay  for  a  dead  carcass,  boy  !  The  man's  life  is  worth  two 
hundred  pounds." 

"  A  very  bad  bargain,  sir,  for  those  who  pay  the  said  two  hun- 
dred for  the  rascal  ;  but  what  if  he  kills  Cary  >.  " 

••  Worse  still.  Cary  must  not  be  killed.  I  am  very  angry  with 
him,  but  he  is  too  good  a  lad  to  be  lost  ;  and  his  father  would 


WESTWARD  HO  f 


219 


never  forgive  us.     We  must  strike  up  their  swords  at  the  first 
scratch." 

"  It  will  make  them  very  mad,  sir." 

'=  Hang  them  !  let  them  fight  us  then,  if  they  don't  like  our 
counsel.     It  must  be,  Arthur." 

"  Be  sure,  sir,"  said  Arthur,  "that  whatsoever  you  shall  command 
I  shall  perform.  It  is  only  too  great  an  honor  to  a  young  man  as  I 
am  to  find  myself  in  the  same  duel  with  your  worship,  and  to  have 
the  advantage  of  your  wisdom  and  experience." 

Sir  Richard  smiles,  and  says — "Now,  gentlemen!  are  you 
ready  .'*  " 

The  Spaniard  pulls  out  a  little  crucifix,  and  kisses  it  devoutly, 
smiting  on  his  breast ;  crosses  himself  two  or  three  times,  and 
says—"  Most  willingly,  Sefior." 

Cary  kisses  no  crucifix,  but  says  a  prayer  nevertheless. 

Cloaks  and  doublets  are  tossed  oft',  the  men  placed,  the  rapiers 
measured  hilt  and  point  ;  Sir  Richard  and  St.  Leger  place  them- 
selves right  and  left  of  the  combatants,  facing  each  other,  the 
points  of  their  drawn  swords  on  the  sand.  Cary  and  the  Spaniard 
stand  for  a  moment  quite  upright,  their  sword-arms  stretched 
straight  before  them,  holding  the  long  rapier  horizontally,  the  left 
hand  clutching  the  dagger  close  to  their  breasts.  So  they  stand 
eye  to  eye,  with  clenched  teeth  and  pale  crushed  lips,  while  men 
might  count  a  score  ;  St.  Leger  can  hear  the  beating  of  his  own 
heart ;  Sir  Richard  is  praying  inwardly  that  no  life  may  be  lost. 
Suddenly  there  is  a  quick  turn  of  Cary's  wrist  and  a  leap  forward. 
The  Spaniard's  dagger  flashes,  and  the  rapier  is  turned  aside  ; 
Cary  springs  six  feet  back  as  the  Spaniard  rushes  on  him  in  turn. 
Parry,  thrust,  parry — the  steel  rattles,  the  sparks  fly,  the  men 
breathe  fierce  and  loud  ;  the  devil's  game  is  begun  in  earnest. 

Five  minutes  have  the  two  had  instant  death  a  short  six  inches 
off  from  those  wild  sinful  hearts  of  theirs,  and  not  a  scratch  has 
been  given.  Yes  !  the  Spaniard's  rapier  passes  under  Cary's  left 
arm  ;  he  bleeds. 

"  A  hit  !  a  hit !  Strike  up,  Atty  !  "  and  the  swords  are  struck 
up  instantly. 

Cary,  nettled  by  the  smart,  tries  to  close  with  his  foe,  but  the 
seconds  cross  their  swords  before  him. 

"  It  is  enough,  gentlemen.     Don  Guzman's  honor  is  satisfied  !  " 

"  But  not  my  revenge,  Senor,"  says  the  Spaniard  with  a  frown. 
••  This  duel  is  a  Voutrance,  on  my  part  ;  and,  I  believe,  on  Mr. 
Cary's  also." 

"  By  heaven,  it  is  !  "  says  Will,  trying  to  push  past.  "  Let  me 
go,  Arthur  St.  Leger  ;  one  of  us  must  down.     Let  me  go,  I  say  !  " 

"If  you  stir,  Mr.  Cary,  you  have  to  do  with  Richard  Grenvile  !" 
thunders  the  lion  voice.     "  I  am  angry  enough  with  you  for  hav- 
ing brought  on  this  duel  at  all.     Don't  provoke  me  still  further, 
young  hot-head  !  " 
,  Cary  stops  sulkily. 


2  20  WESTWARD  HOV 

"  You  do  not  know  all,  Sir  Richard,  or  you  would  not  speak  in 
this  way. 

"  I  do,  sir,  all  ;  and  I  shall  have  the  honor  of  talking  it  over  with 
Don  Guzman,  myself." 

"  Hey  !  "  said  the  Spaniard.  "  You  came  here  as  my  second, 
Sir  Richard,  as  I  understood  ;  but  not  as  my  counsellor." 

"  Arthur,  take  your  man  away  !  Gary  !  obey  me  as  you  would 
your  father,  sir  !     Gan  you  not  trust  Richard  Grenvile  ?  " 

"  Gome  away,  for  God's  sake  !  "  says  poor  Arthur,  dragging 
Gary's  sword  from  him  ;   "Sir  Richard  must  know  best  !  ' 

So  Gary  is  led  off  sulking,  and  Sir  Richard  turns  to  the 
Spaniard. 

"  And  now,  Don  Guzman,  allow  me,  though  much  against  my 
will,  to  speak  to  you  as  a  friend  to  a  friend.  You  will  pardon  me 
if  I  say  that  I  cannot  but  have  seen  last  night's  devotion  to " 

"  You  will  be  pleased,  Senor,  not  to  mention  the  name  of  any 
lady  to  whom  I  may  have  shown  devotion.  I  am  not  accustomed 
to  have  my  little  affairs  talked  over  by  any  unbidden  counsellors."' 

"Well,  Senor,  if  you  take  offense,' you  take  that  which  is  not 
given.  Only  I  warn  you,  with  all  apologies  for  any  seeming  for- 
wardness, that  the  quest  on  which  you  seem  to  be  is  one  on  which 
you  will  not  be  allowed  to  proceed." 

"  And  who  will  stop  me  ?  "  asked  the  Spaniard,  with  a  fierce 
oath. 

"  You  are  not  aware,  illustrious  Sefior,"  said  Sir  Richard,  parry- 
ing the  question,  "  that  our  English  laity  look  upon  mixed  mar- 
riages with  full  as  much  dislike  as  your  own  ecclesiastics." 

"  Marriage,  sir  ?  Who  gave  you  leave  to  mention  that  word 
to  me  ?  " 

Sir  Richard's  brow  darkened  ;  the  Spaniard,  in  his  insane 
pride,  had  forced  upon  the  good  knight  a  suspicion  which  was 
not  really  just. 

"  Is  it  possible,  then,  Senor  Don  Guzman,  that  I  am  to  have  the 
shame  of  mentioning  a  baser  word  ?  ' 

"  Mention  what  you  will,  sir.  All  words  are  the  same  to  me  ; 
for  just  or  unjust,  I  shall  answer  them  alike  only  by  my  sword." 

"You  will  do  no  such  thing,  sir.  You  forget  that  I  am  your 
host." 

"  And  do  you  suppose  that  you  have  therefore  a  right  to  insult 
me  ?     Stand  on  your  guard,  sir  !  " 

Grenvile  answered  by  slapping  his  own  rapier  home  into  the 
sheath  with  a  quiet  smile. 

"  Sefior  Don  Guzman  must  be  well  enough  aware  of  who  Rich- 
ard Grenvile  is,  to  know  that  he  may  claim  the  right  of  refusing 
duel  to  any  man,  if  he  shall  so  think  fit." 

"Sir!"  cried  the  Spaniard,  with  an  oath,  "this  is  too  much  ! 
Do  you  dare  to  hint  that  I  am  unworthy  of  your  sword  ?  Know, 
insolent  Englishman,  I  am  not  merely  a  De  Soto, — though  that, 
by  St.  James,  were  enough  for  you  or  any  man.     I  am  a  Soto- 


WESTWARD  HO!  221 

mayor,  a  Mendoza,  a  Bovadilla,  a  Losada,  a — . — sir  !  I  have  blood 
royal  in  my  veins,  and  you  dare  to  refuse  my  challenge  ?  " 

"Richard  Grenvile  can  show  quarterings,  probably,  against 
even  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayorde  Soto,  or  against 
(with  no  offense  to  the  unquestioned  nobility  of  your  pedigree)  the 
bluest  blood  of  Spain.  But  he  can  show,  moreover,  thank  God,  a 
reputation  which  raises  him  as  much  above  the  imputation  of 
cowardice,  as  it  does  above  that  of  discourtesy.  If  you  think  fit, 
Senor,  to  forget  what  you  have  just,  in  very  excusable  anger, 
vented,  and  to  return  with  me,  you  will  find  me  still,  as  ever,  your 
most  faithful  servant  and  host.  If  otherwise,  you  have  only  to 
name  whither  you  wish  your  mails  to  be  sent,  and  I  shall,  with 
unfeigned  sorrow,  obey  your  commands  concerning  them." 

The  Spaniard  bowed  stiffly,  answered,  "  To  the  nearest  tavern, 
Selior,"  and  then  strode  away.  His  baggage  was  sent  thither. 
He  took  a  boat  down  to  Appledore  that  very  afternoon,  and  van- 
ished, none  knew  whither.  A  very  courteous  note  to  Lady 
Grenvile,  enclosing  the  jewel  which  he  had  been  used  to  wear 
round  his  neck,  was  the  only  memorial  he  left  behind  him  :  except, 
indeed,  the  scar  on  Gary's  arm,  and  poor  Rose's  broken  heart. 

Now  county  towns  are  scandalous  places  at  best  ;  and  though 
all  parties  tried  to  keep  the  duel  secret,  yet,  of  course,  before  noon 
all  Bideford  knew  what  had  happened,  and  a  great  deal  more  ; 
and  what  was  even  worse.  Rose,  in  an  agony  of  terror,  had  seen 
Sir  Richard  Grenvile  enter  her  father's  private  room,  and  sit  there 
closeted  with  him  for  an  hour  and  more  ;  and  when  he  went,  up- 
stairs came  old  Salterne,  with  his  stick  in  his  hand,  and  after 
rating  her  soundly  for  far  worse  than  a  flirt,  gave  her  (I  am  sorry 
to  have  to  say  it,  but  such  was  the  mild  fashion  of  paternal  rule  in 
those  times,  even  over  such  daughters  as  Lady  Jane  Grey,  if 
Roger  Ascham  is  to  be  believed)  such  a  beating  that  her  poor 
sides  were  black  and  blue  for  many  a  day  ;  and  then  putting  her 
on  a  pillion  behind  him,  carried  her  off  twenty  miles  to  her  old 
prison  at  Stow  Mill,  commanding  her  aunt  to  tame  down  her 
saucy  blood  with  bread  of  affliction  and  water  of  affliction.  Which 
commands  were  willingly  enough  fulfilletil  by  the  old  dame,  who 
had  always  borne  a  grudge  against  Rose  for  being  rich  while  she 
was  poor,  and  pretty  while  her  daughter  was  plain  ;  so  that  be- 
tween flouts,  and  sneers,  and  watchings,  and  pretty  open  hints 
that  she  was  a  disgrace  to  her  family,  and  no  better  than  she 
should  be,  the  poor  innocent  child  watered  her  couch  with  lie'r 
tears  for  a  fortnight  or  more,  stretching  out  her  hands  to  the  wide 
Atlantic,  and  calling  wildly  to  Don  Guzman  to  return  and  take  her 
where  he  would,  and  she  would  live  for  him  and  die  for  him ;  and 
perhaps  she  did  not  call  in  vain. 


222  IVESTIVARD  HO  / 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HOW  THE  GOLDEN  HIND  CAME  HOME  AGAIN. 

**  The  spirits  of  your  fathers 

Shall  start  from  every  wave  ; 
For  the  deck  it  was  their  field  of  fame^ 
And  ocean  was  their  grave." 

Campbell. 

**  So  you  see,  my  dear  Mrs.  Hawkins,  having  the  silver,  as  your 
own  eyes  show  you,  beside  the  ores  of  lead,  manganese,  and 
copper,  and  above  all  this  gossan  (^as  the  Cornish  call  it),  which 
I  suspect  to  be  not  merely  the  matrix  of  the  ore,  but  also  the  ver)' 
crude  form  and  materia  prima  of  all  metals — you  mark  me  .'' —  If 
my  recipes,  which  I  had  from  Doctor  Lee,  succeed  only  half  so  well 
as  I  expect,  then  I  refine  out  the  Luna,  the  silver,  lay  it  by,  and 
transmute  the  remaining  ores  into  Sol,  gold.  Whereupon  Peru 
and  Mexico  become  superfluities,  and  England  the  mistress  of  the 
globe.  Strange,  no  doubt;  distant,  no  doubt:  but  possible,  my 
dear  madam,  possible  !  " 

"  And  what  good  to  you  if  it  be,  Mr.  Gilbert  ?  If  you  could  find 
a  philosopher's  stone  to  turn  sinners  into  saints,  now  : — but  nought 
save  God's  grace  can  do  that  :  and  that  last  seems  ofttimes  over 
long  in  coming."     And  Mrs.  Hawkins  sighed. 

"But  indeed,  my  dear  madam,  conceive  now. —  The  Comb 
Martin  mine  thus  becomes  a  gold  mine,  perhaps  inexhaustible  ; 
yields  me  wherewithal  to  carry  out  my  North-West  patent ;  mean- 
while my  brother  Humphrey  holds  Newfoundland,  and  builds  me 
fresh  ships  year  by  year  (for  the  forests  of  pine  are  boundless)  for 
my  China  voyage." 

"Sir  Humphrey  has  better  thoughts  in  his  dear  heart  than  gold, 
Mr.  Adrian  ;  a  very  close  and  gracious  walker  he  has  been  this 
seven  year.     I  wish  my  Captain  John  were  so  too." 

"  And  how  do  you  know  I  have  nought  better  in  my  mind's 
eye  than  gold?  Or,  indeed,  what  better  could  I  have?  Is  not 
gold  the  Spaniard's  strength — the  very  mainspring  of  Antichrist  ? 
By  gold  only,  therefore,  can  we  out-wrestle  him.  You  shake 
your  head  :  but  say,  dear  madam  (for  gold  England  must  have), 
which  is  better,  to  make  gold  bloodlessly  at  home,  or  take  it 
bloodily  abroad  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Gilbert,  Mr.  Gilbert  !  is  it  not  written,  that  those  who 
make  haste  to  be  rich,  pierce  themselves  through  with  many  sor- 
rows ?     Oh,  Mr.  Gilbert !  God's  blessing  is  not  on  it  all." 

"  Not  on  you,  madam  ?  Be  sure  that  brave  Captain  John 
Hawkins's  star  told  me  a  different  tale,  when  I  cast  his  nativity  for 
him. — Born  under  stormy  planets,  truly  :  but  under  right  royal 
and  fortunate  ones." 


WESTWARD  HO!  223 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Adrian  !  I  am  a  simple  body,  and  you  a  great  phil- 
osopher :  but  I  hold  there  is  no  star  for  the  seaman  like  the  Star 
of  Bethlehem  ;  and  that  goes  with  '  peace  on  earth  and  good  will 
to  men,'  and  not  with  such  arms  as  that,  Mr.  Adrian.  I  can't 
abide  to  look  upon  them." 

And  she  pointed  up  to  one  of  the  bosses  of  the  ribbed  oak-roof, 
on  which  was  emblazoned  the  fatal  crest  which  Clarencieux  Her- 
vey  had  granted  years  before  to  her  husband,  the  "  Demi-Moor 
proper,  bound." 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Gilbert  !  since  first  he  went  to  Guinea  after  those 
poor  negroes,  little  lightness  has  my  heart  known  ;  and  the  very 
day  that  that  crest  was  put  up  in  our  grand  new  house,  as  the 
parson  read  the  first  lesson,  there  was  this  text  in  it,  Mr.  Gilbert, 
•  Woe  to  him  that  buildeth  his  house  by  iniquity,  and  his  charn- 
bers  by  wrong.  Shalt  thou  live  because  thou  closest  thyself  in 
cedar  ?  '  And  it  went  into  my  ears  like  fire,  Mr.  Gilbert,  and  into 
my  heart  like  lead  ;  and  when  the  parson  went  on,  '  Did  not  thy 
father  eat  and  drink,  and  do  judgment  and  justice  ?  Then  it  was 
well  with  him,'  I  thought  of  good  old  Captain  Will  ;  and— 1  tell 
ypu,  Mr.  Gilbert,  those  negroes  are  on  my  soul  from  morning  until 
night !  We  are  all  mighty  grand  now,  and  money  comes  in 
fast  ;  but  the  Lord  will  require  the  blood  of  them  at  our  hands  yet. 
He  will  !  " 

"  My  dearest  madam,  who  can  prosper  more  than  you  .''  If 
your  husband  copied  the  Dons  too  closely  once  or  twice  in  the 
matter  of  those  negroes  (which  I  do  not  deny),  was  he  not 
punished  at  once  when  he  lost  ships,  men,  all  but  life,  at  St.  Juan 
d'Ulloa  .?  " 

"Ah,  yes,"  she  said  ;  "  and  that  did  give  mc  a  bit  of  comfort, 
especially  when  the  queen — God  save  her  tender  heart  ! — was  so 
sharp  with  him  for  pity  of  the  poor  wretches  :  but  it  has  not 
mended  him.  He  is  growing  fast  like  the  rest  now,  Mr.  Gilbert, 
greedy  to  win,  and  niggardly  to  spend  (God  forgive  him!)  and 
always  fretting  and  plotting  for  some  new  gain,  and  envying  and 
grudging  at  Drake,  and  all  who  are  deeper  in  the  snare  of  pros- 
perity than  he  is.  Gold,  gold,  nothing  but  gold  in  every  mouth — 
there  it  is  !  Ah  !  I  mind  when  Plymouth  was  a  quiet  little  God- 
fearing place  as  God  could  smile  upon  :  but  ever  since  my  John, 
and  Sir  Francis,  and  poor  Mr.  Oxenham  found  out  the  way  to  the 
Indies,  it's  been  a  sad  place.  Not  a  sailor's  wife  but  is  crying 
•Give,  give,'  like  the  daughters  of  the  horse-leech;  and  every 
woman  must  drive  her  husband  out  across  seas  to  bring  her  home 
money  to  squander  on  hoods  and  farthingales,  and  go  mincing 
with  outstretched  necks,  and  wanton  eyes  ;  and  they  will  soon 
learn  to  do  worse  than  that,  for  the  sake  of  gain.  But  the  Lord's 
hand  will  be  against  their  tires  and  crisping-pins,  their  mufflers 
and  farthingales,  as  it  was  against  the  Jews  of  old.  Ah,  dear 
me  I" 

The  two  interlocutors  in  this  dialogue  were  sitting  in  a  low  oak- 
panelled  room  in  Plymouth  town,  handsomely  enough  furnished, 


^24  WESTWARD  HOI 

adorned  with  carving  and  gilding  and  coats  of  arms,  and  notC' 
worthy  for  many  strange  knicknacks,  Spanish  gold  and  silver 
vessels  on  the  sideboard  ;  strange  birds  and  skins,  and  charts  and 
rough  drawings  of  coast  which  hung  about  the  room  ;  while  over 
the  rireplace,  above  the  portrait  of  old  Captain  Will  Hawkins,  pet 
of  Henry  the  Eighth,  hung  the  Spanish  ensign  which  Captain  John 
had  taken  in  fair  fight  at  Rio  de  la  Hacha  fifteen  years  before, 
when,  with  two  hundred  men,  he  seized  the  town  in  despite  often 
hundred  Spanish  soldiers,  and  watered  his  ship  triumphantly  at 
the  enemy's  wells. 

The  gentleman  was  a  tall  fair  man,  with  a  broad  and  lofty  fore- 
head, wrinkled  with  study,  and  eves  weakened  by  long  coring  over 
the  crucible  and  the  furnace. 

The  lady  had  once  been  comely  enough  :  but  she  was  aged  and 
worn,  as  sailors'  wives  are  apt  to  be,  by  many  sorrows.  Many  a 
sad  day  had  she  had  already  ;  for  althougjh  John  Hawkins,  port- 
admiral  of  Plymouth,  and  Patriarch  of  British  shipbuilders,  was  a 
faithful  husband  enough,  and  as  ready  to  forgive  as  he  was  to 
quarrel,  yet  he  was  obstinate  and  ruthless,  and  in  spite  of  his 
religiosity  (for  all  men  were  religious  then)  was  by  no  means  a 
••  consistent  walker." 

And  sadder  days  were  in  store  for  her,  poor  soul.  Nine  years 
hence  she  would  be  asked  to  name  her  son's  brave  new  ship,  and 
would  christen  it  The  Repentance,  giving  no  reason  in  her  quiet 
steadfast  way  (so  says  her  son  Sir  Richard)  but  that  "  Repentance 
was  the  best  ship  in  which  we  could  sail  to  the  harbor  of  heaven  ;  " 
and  she  would  hear  that  Queen  Elizabeth,  complaining  of  the 
name  for  an  unlucky  one,  had  re-christened  her  The  Dainty,  not 
without  some  by-quip,  perhaps,  at  character  of  her  most  dainty 
captain,  Richard  Hawkins,  the  complete  seaman  and  Euphuist 
afloat,  of  whom,  perhaps,  more  hereafter. 

With  sad  eyes  Mrs.  (then  Lady)  Hawkins  would  see  that  gallant 
bark  sail  Westward-ho,  to  go  the  world  around,  as  many  another 
ship  sailed  ;  and  then  wait,  as  many  a  mother  beside  had  waited, 
for  the  sail  which  never  returned  ;  till,  dim  and  uncertain,  came 
tidings  of  her  boy  fighting  for  four  days  three  great  Armadas  (for 
the  coxcomb  had  his  father's  heart  in  him  after  all),  a  prisoner, 
wounded,  ruined,  languishing  for  weary  years  in  Spanish  prisons. 
And  a  sadder  day  than  that  was  in  store,  when  a  gallant  fleet 
should  round  the  Ram  Head,  not  with  drum  and  trumpet,  but 
with  solemn  minute-guns,  and  all  flags  half-mast  high,  to  tell  her 
that  her  terrible  husband's  work  was  done,  his  terrible  heart 
broken  by  failure  and  fatigue,  and  his  body  laid  by  Drake's  beneath 
the  far-off  tropic  seas. 

And  if,  at  the  close  of  her  eventful  life,  one  gleam  of  sunshine 
opened  for  a  while,  when  her  boy  Richard  returned  to  her  bosom 
from  his  Spanish  prison,  to  be  knighted  for  his  valor,  and  made  a 
Privy  Councillor  for  his  wisdom  ;  yet  soon,  how  soon,  was  the 
old  cloud  to  close  in  again  above  her,  until  her  weary  eyes  should 
open  in  the  light  of  Paradise.     For  that  son   dropped  dead,  some 


WESTWARD  HO  !  225 

say  at  the  very  council-table,  leaving-  behind  him  nought  but 
brol<en  fortunes,  and  huge  purposes  which  never  were  fulfilled  ; 
and  the  stormy  star  of  that  bold  race  was  set  forever,  and  Lady 
Hawkins  bowed  her  weary  head  and  died,  the  groan  of  those 
stolen  negroes  ringing  in  her  ears,  having  lived  long  enough  to 
see  her  husband's  youthful  sin  become  a  national  institution,' and 
a  national  curse  for  generations  yet  unborn. 

I  know  not  why  she  opened  her  heart  that  nig-ht  to  Adrian  Gil- 
bert, with  a  frankness  which  she  would  hardly  have  dared  to  use 
to  her  own  family.  Perhaps  it  was  that  Adrian,  like  his  great 
brothers,  Humphrey  and  Raleigh,  was  a  man  full  of  all  lofty  and 
delicate  enthusiasms,  tender  and  poetical,  such  as  women  cling  to 
when  their  hearts  are  lonely  ;  but  so  it  was  ;  and  Adrian,  half 
ashamed  of  his  own  ambitious  dreams,  sate  looking  at  her  a  while' 
in  silence  ;  and  then —  ' 

"  The  Lord  be  with  you,  dearest  lady.  Strange,  how  you] 
women  sit  at  home  to  love  and  suffer,  while  we  men  rush  forth' 
to  break  our  hearts  and  yours  against  rocks  of  our  own  seeking  ! 
Ah  well  !  were  it  not  for  Scripture,  I  should  hav«  thought  that' 
Adam,  rather  than  Eve,  had  been  the  one  who  plucked  the  fruit  of 
the  forbidden  tree." 

"  We  women,  I  fear,  did  the  deed  nevertheless  ;  for  we  bear  the 
doom  of  it  our  lives  long." 

"  You  always  remind  me,  madam,  of  my  dear  Mrs.  Leigh  of 
Burrough,  and  her  counsels." 

"  Do  you  see  her  often  ?  I  hear  of  her  as  one  of  the  Lord's  most 
precious  vessels." 

"  I  would  have  done  more  ere  now  than  see  her,"  said  he  with  a 
blush,  "  had  she  allowed  me  :  but  she  lives  only  for  the  memory 
of  her  husband  and  the  fame  of  her  noble  sons." 

As  he  spoke  the  door  opened,  and  in  walked,  wrapped  in  his 
rough  sea-gown,  none  other  than  one  of  those  said  noble  sons. 

Adrian  turned  pale. 

"  Amyas  Leigh  !  What  brings  you  hither  .?  How  fares  my 
brother  ?     Where  is  the  ship  'i  " 

"  Your  brother  is  well,  Mr.  Gilbert.  The  Golden  Hind  is  gone 
on  to  Dartmouth,  with  Mr.  Hayes.  I  came  ashore  here,  meaning 
to  go  north  to  Bideford,  ere  I  went  to  London.  I  called  at  Drake's 
just  now,  but  he  was  away." 

"  The  Golden  Hind  ?     What  brinrgs  her  home  so  soon  ?  " 

"  Yet  welcome  ever,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Hawkins.  "  This  is  a  great 
surprise,  though.  Captain  John  did  not  look  for  you  till  next 
year." 

Amyas  was  silent. 

"  Something  is  wrong  !  "  cried  Adrian.     "  Speak  ! '' 

Amyas  tried,  but  could  not. 

"Will  you  drive  a  man  mad,  sir  ?  Has  the  adventure  failed  ? 
You  said  my  brother  was  well." 

"  He  is  well." 

"  Then  what — Why  do  you   look  at  mc   in   that  fashion,  sir  ?  * 


226-  WESTWAI^D  HO  ! 

and  springing  up,  Adrian  rushed  forward,  and  held  the  candle  to 
Amyas's  face. 

Amyas's  lip  quivered,  as  he  laid  his  hand  on  Adrian's  shoulder. 

"  Your  great  and  glorious  brother,  sir,  is  better  bestowed  than 
in  settling  Newfoundland." 

"  Dead  .'*  "  shrieked  Adrian. 

"  He  is  with  the  God  whom  he  served  !  " 

"  He  was  always  with  Him,  like  Enoch  :  parable  me  no  para- 
bles, if  you  love  me,  sir  !  " 

"  And,  like  Enoch,  he  was  not  ;  for  God  took  him." 

Adrian  clasped  his  hands  over  his  forehead,  and  leaned  against 
the  table. 

"  Go  on,  sir,  go  on.     God  will  give  me  strength  to  hear  all." 

And  gradually  Amyas  opened  to  Adrian  that  tragic  story,  which 
Mr.  Hayes  has  long  ago  told  far  too  well  to  allow  a  second  edition 
of  it  from  me  ;  of  the  unruliness  of  the  men,  ruffians,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, caught  up  at  hap-hazard  ;  of  conspiracies  to  carry  off"  the 
ships,  plunder  of  fishing  vessels,  desertions  multiplying  daily  ; 
licences  from  the  General  to  the  lazy  and  fearful  to  return  home  : 
till  Adrian  broke  out  with  a  groan — 

"  From  him  ?  Conspired  against  him  }  Deserted  from  him  ? 
Dotards,  buzzards  !  Where  would  they  have  found  such  another 
leader  ?  " 

"  Your  illustrious  brother,  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "  if  you  will 
pardon  me,  was  a  very  great  philosopher,  but  not  so  much  of  a 
General." 

"  General,  sir  ?     Where  w^as  braver  man  ?  " 

"Not  on  God's  earth  :  but  that  does  not  make  a  General,  sir. 
If  Cortes  had  been  brave  and  no  more,  Mexico  would  have  been 
Mexico  still.  The  truth  is,  sir,  Cortes,  like  my  Captain  Drake, 
knew  when  to  hang  a  man  ;  and  your  great  brother  did  not." 

Amyas,  as  I  suppose,  was  right.  Gilbert  was  a  man  who  could 
be  angry  enough  at  baseness  or  neglect,  but  who  was  too  kindly 
to  punish  it  ;  he  was  one  who  could  form  the  wisest  and  best- 
digested  plans,  but  who  could  not  stoop  to  that  hail-fellow-well- 
met  drudgery  among  his  subordinates  which  has  been  the  talisman 
of  great  captains. 

Then  Amyas  went  on  to  tell  the  rest  of  his  story  ;  the  setting 
sail  from  St.  John's  to  discover  the  southward  coast  ;  Sir  Hum- 
phrey's chivalrous  determination  to  go  in  the  little  Squirrel  of  only 
ten  tons,  and  "  overcharged  with  nettings,  fights,  and  small  ord- 
nance," not  only  because  she  was  more  fit  to  examine  the  creeks, 
but  because  he  had  heard  of  some  taunt  against  him  among  the 
men,  that  he  was  afraid  of  the  sea. 

After  that,  woe  on  woe  ;  how,  seven  days  after  they  left  Cape 
Raz,  their  largest  ship,  the  Delight,  after  she  had  "  most  part  of 
the  night  "  (I  quote  Hayes),  "  like  the  swan  that  singeth  before 
her  death,  continued  in  sounding  of  trumpets,  drums,  and  fifes, 
also  winding  of  the  cornets  and  hautboys,  and,  in  the  end  of  their 
jollity,  left  off  with  the  battle  and  doleful  knells,"  struck  the  next 


WESTWARD  HO!  227 

day  (the  Golden  Hind  and  the  Squirrel  sheering  off  just  in  time) 
upon  unknown  shoals  ;  where  were  lost  all  but  fourteen,  and 
among  them  Frank's  philosopher  friend,  poor  Budaeus  ;  and  those 
who  escaped,  after  all  horrors  of  cold  and  famine,  were  cast  on 
shore  in  Newfoundland.  How,  worn  out  with  hunger  and  want 
of  clothes,  the  crews  of  the  two  remaining  ships  persuaded  Sir 
Humphrey  to  sail  toward  England  on  the  31st  of  August  ;  and  on 
"  that  very  instant,  even  in  winding  about,"  beheld  close  along- 
side "  a  very  lion  in  shape,  hair,  and  color,  not  swimming,  but 
sliding  on  the  water,  with  his  whole  body  ;  who  passed  along, 
turning  his  head  to  and  fro,  yawning  and  gaping  wide,  with  ugly 
demonstration  of  long  teeth  and  glaring  eyes  ;  and  to  bid  us  fare- 
well (coming  right  against  the  Hind)  he  sent  forth  a  horrible  voice, 
roaring  or  bellowing  as  doth  a  lion."  •'  What  opinion  others  had 
thereof,  and  chiefly  the  General  himself,  I  forbear  to  deliver  ;  but 
he  took  it  for  bonum  omen,  rejoicing  that  he  was  to  war  against 
such  an  enemy,  if  it  were  the  devil." 

"And  the  devil  it  was,  doubtless,"  said  Adrian,  "the  roaring 
lion  who  goes  about  seeking  whom  he  may  devour." 

"  He  has  not  got  your  brother,  at  least,"  quoth  Amyas. 

"  No,"  rejoined  Mrs.  Hawkins  (smile  not,  reader,  for  those  were 
days  in  which  men  believed  in  the  devil)  ;  "  he  roared  for  joy  to 
think  how  many  poor  souls  would  be  left  still  in  heathen  darkness 
by  Sir  Humphrey's  death.  God  be  with  that  good  knight,  and 
send  all  mariners  where  he  is  now  !  " 

Then  Amyas  told  the  last  scene  ;  how,  when  they  were  off  the 
Azores,  the  storms  came  on  heavier  than  ever,  with  "  terrible  seas, 
breaking  short  and  pyramid-wise,"  till  on  the  9th  September, 
the  tiny  Squirrel  nearly  foundered  and  yet  recovered  ;  "  and  the 
General,  sitting  abaft  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  cried  out  to  us  in 
the  Hind  so  oft  as  we  did  approach  within  hearing,  '  We  are  as 
near  heaven  by  sea  as  by  land,'  reiterating  the  same  speech,  well 
beseeming  a  soldier  resolute  in  Jesus  Christ,  as  I  can  testify 
he  was. 

"  The  same  Monday,  about  twelve  of  the  clock,  or  not  long  after, 
the  frigate  (the  Squirrel)  being  ahead  of  us  in  the  Golden  Hind, 
suddenly  her  lights  were  out ;  and  withal  our  watch  cried,  the 
General  was  cast  away,  which  was  true  ;  for  in  that  moment,  the 
frigate  was  devoured  and  swallowed  up  by  the  sea."  . 

And  so  ended  (I  have  used  Hayes'  own  words)  Amyas  Leigh's 
story. 

"  Oh,  my  brother  !  my  brother  ! "  moaned  poor  Adrian  ;  "the 
glory  of  his  house,  the  glory  of  Devon  !  " 

"  Ah  !  what  will  the  queen  say  ?  "  asked  Mrs.  Hawkins  through 
her  tears. 

"  Tell  me,"  asked  Adrian,  "  had  he  the  jewel  on  when  he 
died  ?  " 

•  The  queen's  jewel  ?  He  always  wore  that,  and  his  own  posy 
too,  '  Mutare  vel  timere  sperno.'     He  wore  it ;  and  he  lived  it  " 

"  Ay,"  said  Adrian,  "  the  same  to  the  last !  " 


2^g  WESTWARD  HO  1 

"  Not  quite  that,"  said  Amyas.  "  He  was  a  meeker  man  lat^ 
terly  than  he  used  to  be.  As  he  said  himself  once,  a  better  refiner 
than  any  whom  he  had  on  board  had  followed  him  close  all 
the  seas  over,  and  purified  him  in  the  fire.  And  gold  seven  times 
tried  he  was,  when  God,  having  done  his  work  in  him,  took  him 
home  at  last." 

And  so  the  talk  ended.  There  was  no  doubt  that  the  expedition 
had  been  an  utter  failure  ;  Adrian  was  a  ruined  man  ;  and 
Amyas  had  lost  his  venture. 

Adrian  rose,  and  begged  leave  to  retire  ;  he  must  collect  him- 
self. ,  .     .     ,.     n        1        1.      1 

"  Poor  gentleman  !  "  said  Mrs.  Hawkins  ;  "  it  is  little  else  he  has 
left  to  collect."  ,  ,      , 

"  Or  I  either,"  said  Amyas.  "  I  was  going  to  ask  you  to  lend 
me  one  of  your  son's  shirts,  and  five  pounds  to  get  myself  and  my 
men  home."  ,    ,        ^  ,       ^^      ,  •     , 

"  Five  ?  Fifty,  Mr.  Leigh  !  God  forbid  that  John  Hawkins  s 
wife  should  refuse  her  last  penny  to  a  distressed  mariner,  and  he  a 
gentleman  born.     But  you  must  eat  and  drink." 

"  It's  more  than  I  have  done  for  many  a  day  wortn  speak- 
ing of."  .  ui      A/r 

And  Amyas  sat  down  in  his  rags  to  a  good  supper,  while  Mrs. 
Hawkins  told  him  all  the  news  which  she  could  of  his  mother, 
whom  Adrian  Gilbert  had  seen  a  few  months  before  in  London  ; 
and  then  went  on  naturally  enough,  to  the  Bideford  news. 

■  "  And  by  the  by,  Captain  Leigh,  I've  sad  news  for  you  from  your 
place  ;  and  I  had  it  from  one  who  was  there  at  the  time.  You 
must  know  a  Spanish  captain,  a  prisoner " 

"  What,  the  one  I  sent  home  from  Smerwick  ?  "  ,         .. 

"  You  sent  ?     Mercy  on  us  !     Then,  perhaps,  you've  heard 

"  How  can  I  have  heard  ?     What^?  " 
*'  That  he's  gone  off,  the  villain  !  " 

■  "  Without  paying  his  ransom  .?  " 

"  I  can't  say  that  ;  but  there's  a  poor  innocent  young  maid  gone 
off  with  him,  one  Salterne's  daughter— the  Popish  serpent  !  ' ' 

"  Rose  Salterne,  the  mayor's  daughter,  the  Rose  of  Torridge  ! 

"  That's  her.     Bless  your  dear  soul,  what  ails  you  ?  " 

Amyas  had  dropped  back  in  his  seat  as  if  he  had  been  shot ; 
but  he  recovered  himself  before  kind  Mrs.  Hawkins  could  rush  to 
the  cupboard  for  cordials. 

"  You'll  torgive  me,  madame  ;  but  I'm  weak  from  the  sea  ;  and 
your  good  ale  has  turned  me  a  bit  dizzy,  I  think." 

"  Av  ves,  'tis  too,  too  heavy,  till  you've  been  on  shore  a  while. 
Try  the  'aqua  vitae  ;  my  Captain  John  has  it  right  good  ;  and  a 
bit  too  fond  of  it  too,  poor  dear  soul,  between  whiles,  Heaven  tor- 
give  him  !  "  ,  ,  1  A  »c. 

So  she  poured  some  strong  brandy  and  water  down  Amyas  s 
tliroat  in  spite  of  his  refusals,  and  sent  him  to  bed,  but  not  to 
sleep  ;  and  after  a  night  of  tossing,  he  started  for  Bideford,  having 
obtained  the  means  for  so  doing  from  Mrs,  Hawkins. 


WESTWARD  HO  !  239 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
HOW  SALVATION  YEO   SLEW   THE  KING  OF  THE  CUBBINGS. 

•^  Ignorance  and  evil,  even  in  full  flight,  deal  terrible  back-handed  strokes  at  their  pur- 
suers,"—Helps. 

Now  I  am  sorry  to  say,  for  the  honor  of  my  country,  that  it  was 
by  no  means  a  safe  thing  in  those  days  to  travel  from  Plymouth  tp 
the  north  of  Devon  ;  because,  to  get  to  your  journey's  end,  unless 
you  were  minded  to  make  a  circuit  of  many  miles,  you  must  needs 
pass  through  the  territory  of  a  foreign  and  hostile  potentate,  who 
had  many  times  ravaged  the  dominions,  and  defeated  the  forces  of 
her  Majesty  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  was  named  (behind  his  back  at 
least)  the  King  of  the  Gubbings.  "  So  now  I  dare  call  them,"  says 
Fuller,  "  secured  by  distance,  which  one  of  more  valor  durst  not 
do  to  their  face,  for  fear  their  fury  fall  upon  him.  Yet  hitherto 
have  I  met  with  none  who  could  render  a  reason  of  their  name. 
We  call  the  shavings  of  fish  (which  are  little  worth)  gubbings  ;  and 
sure  it  is  that  they  are  sensible  that  the  word  importeth  shame  and 
disgrace. 

"  As  for  the  suggestion  of  my  worthy  and  learned  friend,  Mr. 
Joseph  Maynard,  that  such  as  did  "  inhabitare  montes  gibber- 
osos,'  were  called  Gubbings,  such  will  smile  at  the  ingenuity  who 
dissent  from  the  truth  of  tne  etymology. 

"  I  have  read  of  an  England  beyond  Wales,  but  the  Gubbmgs 
land  is  a  Scythia  within  England,  and  they  pure  heathens  therein. 
It  lieth  nigh  Brent.  For  in  the  edge  of  Dartmoor  it  is  reported 
that,  some  two  hundred  years  since,  two  bad  women,  being  with 
child,  fled  thither  to  hide  themselves  ;  to  whom  certain  lewd  fel- 
lows resorted,  and  this  was  their  first  original.  They  are  a 
peculiar  of  their  own  making,  exempt  from  bishop,  archdeacon, 
and  all  authority,  either  ecclesiastical  or  civil.  They  live  in  cots 
(rather  holes  than  houses)  like  swine,  having  all  in  common,  mul- 
tiplied with  out  marriage  into  many  hundreds.  Their  language 
is  the  dross  of  the  dregs  of  the  vulgar  Devonian  ;  and  the  more 
learned  a  man  is,  the  worse  he  can  understand  them.  During  our 
civil  wars  no  soldiers  were  quartered  upon  them,  for  fear  of  being 
quartered  amongst  them.  Their  wealth  consistetli  in  other  men's 
goods  ;  they  live  by  stealing  the  sheep  on  the  moors  ;  and  vain  is 
it  for  any  to  search  their  houses,  being  a  work  beneath  the  pains 
of  any  sheriff,  and  above  the  power  of  any  constable.  Such  is 
their  fleetness,  they  will  out-run  many  horses  ;  vivaciousness,  they 
outlive  most  men  ;  living  in  an  ignorance  of  luxury,  the  extin- 
guisher of  life.  They  hold  together  like  bees  ;  offend  one,  and  all 
will  revenge  his  quarrel. 


2  -O .  WES  TWARD  HO  I 

"  But  now  I  am  informed  that  they  begin  to  be  civilized,  and 
tender  their  children  to  baptism,  and  return  to  be  men,  yea,  Chris- 
tians again.  I  hope  no  civil  people  amongst  us  will  turn  barbar- 
ians, now  these  barbarians  begin  to  be  civilized."* 

With  which  quip  against  the  Anabaptists  of  his  day.  Fuller  ends 
his  story  ;  and  I  leave  him  to  set  forth  how  Amyas,  in  fear  of  these 
same  Scythians  and  heathens,  rode  out  of  Plymouth  on  a  right 
good  horse,  in  his  full  suit  of  armor,  carrying  lance  and  sword, 
and  over  and  above  two  great  dags,  or  horse-pistols  ;  and  behind 
him  Salvation  Yeo,  and  five  or  six  north  Devon  men  (who  had 
served  with  him  in  Ireland,  and  were  returning  on  furlough),  clad 
in  head-pieces  and  quilted  jerkins,  each  man  with  his  pike  and 
sword,  and  Yeo  with  arquebuse  and  match,  while  two  sumpter 
ponies  carried  the  baggage  of  this  formidable  troop. 

They  pushed  on  as  fast  as  they  could,  through  Tavistock,  to 
reach  before  nightfall  Lydford,  where  they  meant  to  sleep  ;  but 
what  with  buying  the  horses,  and  other  delays,  they  had  not  beea 
able  to  start  before  noon  ;  and  night  fell  just  as  they  reached  the 
frontiers  of  the  enemy's  country.  A  dreary  place  enough  it 
was,  by  the  wild  glare  of  sunset.  A  high  table-land  of  heath, 
banked  on  the  right  by  the  crags  and  hills  of  Dartmoor,  and  slop- 
ing away  to  the  south  and  west  toward  the  foot  of  the  great  cone 
of  Brent-Tor,  which  towered  up  like  an  extinct  volcano  (as  some 
$ay  that  it  really  is),  crowned  with  the  tiny  church,  the  votive 
offering  of  some  Plymouth  merchant  of  old  times,  who  vowed  in 
sore  distress  to  build  a  church  to  the  Blessed  Virgin  on  the  first 
point  of  English  land  which  he  should  see.  Faraway,  down  those 
waste  slopes,  they  could  see  the  tiny  threads  of  blue  smoke  rising 
irom  the  dens  of  the  Gubbins  ;  and  more  than  once  they  called  a 
halt,  to  examine  whether  distant  furze-bushes  and  ponies  might 
not  be  the  patrols  of  an  advancing  army.  It  is  all  very  well  to 
laugh  at  it  now,  in  the  nineteenth  century,  but  it  was  no  laughing 
matter  then  ;  as  they  found  before  they  had  gone  two  miles 
farther. 

On  the  middle  of  the  down  stood  a  wayside  inn  ;  a  desolate  and 
villanous-looking  lump  of  lichen-spotted  granite,  with  windows 
paper-patched,  and  rotting  thatch  kept  down  by  stones  and  straw- 
banks  ;  and  at  the  back  a  rambling  court-ledge  of  barns  and  walls, 
around  which  pigs  and  barefoot  children  grunted  in  loving  com- 
munion of  dirt.  At  the  door,  rapt  apparently  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  the  mountain  peaks  whicn  glowed  rich  orange  in  the  last 
lingering  sun-rays,  but  really  watching  which  way  the  sheep  on 
the  moor  were  taking,  stood  the  innkeeper,  a  brawny,  sodden-vis- 
aged,  blear-eyed  six  feet  of  brutishness,  holding  up  his  hose  with 
one  hand,  for  want  of  points,  and  clawing  with  the  other  his  elf- 
locks,  on  which  a  fair  sprinkling  of  feathers  might  denote  :  first, 
that  he  was  just  out  of  bed.  having  been  out  sheep-stealing  all  the 
nig]n  before  ;  and  secondly,  that  by  natural  genius  he  had  antici- 
pated the  opinion  of  that  great  apostle  of  sluttishne.ss,  Fredericus 

*  Fuller,  p.  398. 


WESTWARD  HO !  23 1 

Dedekind,  and  his  faithful  disciple  Dekker,  which  last  speaks  thus 
to  all  gulls  and  grobians  : — "  Consider  that  as  those  trees  of  cob- 
web lawn,  woven  by  spinners  in  the  fresh  May  mornings,  do  dress 
the  curled  heads  of  the  mountains,  and  adorn  the  swelling  bosoms 
of  the  valleys  ;  or  as  those  snowy  fleeces,  which  the  naked  briar 
steals  from  the  innocent  sheep  to  make  himself  a  warm  winter 
livery,  are,  to  either  of  them  both,  an  excellent  ornament ;  so  make 
thou  account,  that  to  have  feathers  sticking  here  and  there  on  thy 
head  will  embellish  thee,  and  set  thy  crown  out  rarely.  None 
dare  upbraid  thee,  that  like  a  beggar  thou  hast  lain  on  straw,  or 
like  a  travelling  pedler  upon  musty  flocks  ;  for  those  feathers  will 
rise  up  as  witnesses  to  choke  him  that  says  so,  and  to  prove  thy 
bed  to  have  been  of  the  softest  down."  Even  so  did  those  feathers 
bear  witness  that  the  possessor  of  Rogues'  Harbor  Inn,  on  Brent- 
Tor  Down,  whatever  else  he  lacked,  lacked  not  geese  enough  to 
keep  him  in  soft  lying, 

Presently  he  spies  Amyas  and  his  party  coming  slowly  over  the 
hill,  pricks  up  his  ears,  and  counts  them  ;  sees  Amyas's  armor  ; 
shakes  his  head  and  grunts  ;  and  then,  being  a  man  of  few  words, 
utters  a  sleepy  howl — 

"  Mirooi  ! — Pushing  pooale  !  " 

A  strapping  lass — whose  only  covering  (for  country  women^  at 
work  in  those  days  dispensed  with  the  ornament  of  a  gown)  is  a 
green  bodice  and  red  petticoat,  neither  of  them  over  ample — 
brings  out  his  fishing-rod  and  basket,  and  the  man,  having  tied  up 
his  hose  with  some  ends  of  string,  examines  the  footlink. 

"  Don  vlies'  gone  !  " 

"May  be,"  says  Mary  ;  "shouldn't  hav'  left  mun  out  to  coort. 
May  be  old  hen's  ate  mun  off.  I  see  her  chocking  about  a  while 
agone." 

The  host  receives  this  intelligence  with  an  oath,  and  replies  by 
a  violent  blow  at  Mary's  head,  which  she,  accustomed  to  such 
slight  matters,  dodges,  and  then  returns  the  blow  with  good  effect 
on  the  shock  head. 

Whereon  mine  host,  equally  accustomed  to  such  slight  matters, 
quietly  shambles  off,  howling  as  he  departs — 

"  Tell  patrico  !  " 

Mary  runs  in,  combs  her  hair,  slips  a  pair  of  stockings  and  her 
best  gown  over  her  dirt,  and  awaits  the  coming  guests,  who  make 
a  few  long  faces  at  the  "  mucksy  sort  of  a  place,"  but  prefer  to 
spend  the  night  there  than  to  bivouac  close  to  the  enemy's  camp. 

So  the  old  hen  who  has  swallowed  the  dun  fly  is  killed,  plucked, 
and  roasted,  and  certain  "  black  Dartmoor  mutton  "  is  put  on  the 
gridiron,  and  being  compelled  to  confess  the  truth  by  that  fiery 
torment,  proclaims  itself  to  all  noses  as  red-deer  venison.  In  the 
meanwhile  Amyas  has  put  his  horse  and  the  ponies  into  a  shed,  to 
which  he  can  find  neither  lock  nor  kev,  and  therefore  returns 
grumbling,  not  without  fear  for  his  steed's  safety.  The  baggage 
is  heaped  in  a  corner  of  the  room,  and  Amyas  stretches  his  legs 
before  a  turf  fire  ;  while  Yeo.  who  has  his  notions  about  the  place 


^3^ 


WESTWARD  HO! 


posts  himself  at  the  door,  and  the  men  are  seized  with  a  desire  to 
superintend  the  cooking,  probably  to  be  attributed  to  the  ^act  that 
Mary  is  cook. 

Presently  Yeo  comes  in  again. 

•'  There's  a  gentleman  just  coming  up,  sir,  all  alone." 

"  Ask  him  to  make  one  of  our  party,  then,  with  my  compliments." 
Yeo  goes  out,  and  returns  in  five  minutes. 

"  Please,  sir,  he's  gone  in  back  ways,  by  the  court." 

"Well,  he  has  an  odd  taste,  if  he  makes  himself  at  home  here." 

Out  goes  Yeo  again,  and  comes  back  once  more  after  five  min- 
utes, in  high  excitement. 

"Come  out,  sir  ;  for  goodness' sake  come  out.  I've  got  him. 
Safe  as  a  rat  in  a  trap,  I  have  ! " 

"Who?" 

"  A  Jesuit,  sir." 

"  Nonsense,  man  !  " 

"  I  tell  you  truth,  sir.  I  went  round  the  house,  for  I  didn't  like 
the  looks  of  him  as  he  came  up.  I  knew  he  was  one  of  them  vil- 
lains the  minute  he  came  up,  by  the  way  he  turned  in  his  toes,  and 
put  down  his  feet  so  still  and  careful,  like  as  if  he  was  afraid  of 
offending  God  at  every  step.  So  I  just  put  my  eye  between  the 
wall  and  the  dern  of  the  gate,  and  I  saw  him  come  up  to  the  back 
door  and  knock,  and  call  '  Mary  !  '  quite  still,  like  any  Jesuit  ; 
and  the  wench  files  out  to  him  ready  to  eat  him  ;  and  '  Go  away,' 
I  heard  her  say,  '  there's  a  dear  man  ;  '  and  then  something  about 
a  'queer  cufifin  '  (that's  a  justice  in  these  canters'  thieves'  Latin)  ; 
and  with  that  he  takes  out  a  somewhat — I'll  swear  it  was  one  of 
those  Popish  Agnuses — and  gives  it  her  ;  and  she  kisses  it,  and 
crosses  herself,  and  asks  him  if  that's  the  right  way,  and  then  puts 
it  into  her  bosom,  and  he  says,  '  Bless  you,  my  daughter  ;'  and 
then  I  was  sure  of  the  dog:  and  he  slips  quite  still  to  the  stable, 
and  peeps  in,  and  when  he  sees  no  one  there,  in  he  goes,  and  out 
I  go,  and  shut  to  the  door,  and  back  a  cart  that  was  there  up 
against  it,  and  call  out  one  of  the  men  to  watch  the  stable,  and  the 
girl's  crying  like  mad." 

"What  a  fool's  trick,  man  !  How  do  you  know  that  he  is  not 
some  honest  gentleman,  after  all  ?  " 

"Fool  or  none,  sir;  honest  gentlemen  don't  give  maidens 
Agnuses.  I've  put  him  in  ;  and  if  you  want  him  let  out  again, 
you  must  come  and  do  it  yourself,  for  my  conscience  is  against 
it,  sir.  If  the  Lord's  enemies  are  delivered  into  my  hand,  I'm 
answerable,  sir,"  went  on  Yeo  as  Amyas  hurried  out  with  him. 
"  'Tis  written,  '  If  any  let  one  of  them  go,  his  life  shall  be  for  the 
life  of  him.' " 

So  Amyas  ran  out,  pulled  back  the  cart  grumbling,  opened  the 
door,  anci  began  a  string  of  apologies  to — his  cousin  Eustace. 

Yes,  here  he  was,  with  such  a  countenance,  half  foolish,  half 
venomous,  as  Reynard  wears  when  the  last  spadeful  of  earth  is 
thrown  back,  and  he  is  revealed  sitting  disconsolately  on  his  tail 
within  a  vard  of  the  terriers' noses. 


WEST  WARD  HO  ! 


^ZZ 


Neither  cousin  spoke  for  a  minute  or  two.     At  last  Amyas — 

"  Well,  cousin  hide-and-seek,  how  long  have  you  added  horse- 
stealing- to  your  other  trades  ?  " 

"  My  dear  Amyas,"  said  Eustace  very  meekly,  "  I  may  surely  go 
mto  an  inn  stable  without  intending  to  steal  what  is  in  it." 
-    "  Of  course,  old  fellow,"  said  Amyas,  mollified,  "  I  was  only  in 
jest.     But  what  brings  you  here  ?     Not  prudence,  certainly." 

"  I  am  bound  to  know  no  prudence  save  for  the  Lord's  work." 

"  That's  giving  away  Agnus  Deis,  and  deceiving  poor  heathen 
wenches,  I  suppose,"  said  Yeo. 

Eustace  answered  pretty  roundly — 

*•  Heathens  ?  Yes,  truly  ;  you  Protestants  leave  these  poor 
wretches  heathens,  and  then  insult  and  persecute  those  who,  with 
a  devotion  unknown  to  you,  labor  at  the  danger  of  their  lives  to 
make  them  Christians.  Mr.  Amyas  Leigh,  you  can  give  me  up  to 
be  hanged  at  Exeter,  if  it  shall  so  please  you  to  disgrace  your 
own  family  ;  but  from  this  spot  neither  you,  no,  nor  all  the  myr- 
midons of  your  queen,  shall  drive  me,  while  there  is  a  soul  here 
left  unsaved." 

"  Come  out  of  the  stable,  at  least,"  said  Amyas  ;  "you  don't 
wan't  to  make  the  horses  Papists,  as  well  as  the  asses,  do  you  ? 
Come  out,  man,  and  go  to  the  devil  your  own  way.  I  shan't  in- 
form against  you  ;  and  Yeo  here  will  hold  his  tongue  if  I  tell  him, 
I  know." 

"  It  goes  sorely  against  my  conscience,  sir,  but  being  that  he  is 
your  cousin,  of  course " 

"  Of  course  ;  and  now  come  in  and  eat  with  me  ;  supper's  just 
ready,  and  bygones  shall  be  bygones,  if  you  will  have  them  so!" 

How  much  forgiveness  Eustace  felt  in  his  heart,  I  know  not  :  but 
he  knew,  of  course,  that  he  ought  to  forgive  ;  and  to  go  in  and  eat 
with  Amyas  was  to  perform  an  act  of  forgiveness,  and,  for  the 
best  of  motives,  too,  for  by  it  the  cause  of  the  Church  might  be 
furthered  ;  and  acts  and  motives  being  correct,  what  more  was 
needed  ?  So  in  he  went  ;  and  yet  he  never  forgot  that  scar  upon 
his  cheek  ;  and  Amyas  could  not  look  him  in  the  face  but  Eustace 
must  fancy  that  his  eyes  were  on  the  scar,  and  peep  up  from  under 
his  lids  to  see  if  there  was  any  smile  of  triumph  on  that  honest 
visage.  They  talked  away  over  the  venison,  guardedly  enough  at 
first ;  but  as  they  went  on,  Amyas's  straightforward  kindliness 
warmed  poor  Eustace's  frozen  heart  ;  and  ere  they  were  aware, 
they  found  themselves  talking  over  old  haunts  and  old  passages 
of  their  boyhood — uncles,  aunts,  and  cousins  ;  and  Eustace,  with- 
out any  sinister  intention,  asked  Amyas  why  he  was  going  to  Bide- 
ford,  while  Frank  and  his  mother  were  in  London. 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  cannot  rest  till  I  have  heard  the  whole 
story  about  poor  Rose  Salterne." 

"What  about  her  ?  "  cried  Eustace. 

"  Do  you  not  know  ?  " 

"  How  should  I  know  anything  here  ?  For  heaven's  sake,  what 
has  happened  ?  " 


234 


WESTWARD  HO! 


Amyas  told  him,  wondering  at  his  eagerness,  for  he  had  never 
had  the  least  suspicion  of  Eustace's  love. 

Eustace  shrieked  aloud. 

"  Fool,  fool  that  I  have  been  !  Caught  in  my  own  trap  ! 
Villain,  villain  that  he  is  !     After  all  he  promised  me  at  Lundy  !  " 

And  springing  up,  Eustace  stamped  up  and  down  the  room, 
gnashing  his  teeth,  tossing  his  head  from  side  to  side,  and  clutch- 
ing with  outstretched  hands  at  the  empty  air,  with  the  horrible  ges- 
ture (Heaven  grant  that  no  reader  has  ever  witnessed  it  ! )  of  that 
despair  which  still  seeks  blindly  for  the  object  which  it  knows  is 
lost  forever. 

Amyas  sat  thunderstruck.  His  first  impulse  was  to  ask, 
"  Lundy  ?  What  knew  you  of  him  ?  What  had  he  or  you  to  do 
at  Lundy  ?  "  but  pity  conquered  curiosity. 

"  Oh,  Eustace  !     And  you  then  loved  her  too  ?  " 

"  Don't  speak  to  me  !  Loved  her  ?  Yes,  sir,  and  had  as  good 
a  right  to  love  her  as  any  one  of  your  precious  brotherhood  of  the 
Rose.     Don't  speak  to  me,  I  say,  or  I  shall  do  you  a  mischief!  " 

So  Eustace  knew  of  the  brotherhood  too  !  Amyas  longed  to 
ask  him  how  ;  but  what  use  in  that  ?  If  he  knew  it,  he  knew  it  ; 
and  what  harm  ?     So  he  only  answered — 

"  My  good  cousin,  why  be  wroth  with  me  ?  If  you  really 
love  her,  now  is  the  time  to  take  counsel  with  me  how  best  we 
shall " 

Eustace  did  not  let  him  finish  his  sentence.  Conscious  that  he 
had  betrayed  himself  upon  more  points  than  one,  he  stopped  short 
in  his  walk,  suddenly  collected  himself  by  one  great  effort,  and 
eyed  Amyas  from  underneath  his  eyebrows  with  the  old  down 
look. 

•'  How  best  we  shall  do  what,  my  valiant  cousin  ?  "  said  he  in  a 
meaning  and  half-scornful  voice.  "What  does  your  most  chival- 
rous Brotherhood  of  the  Rose  purpose  in  such  a  case  ?  " 

Amyas,  a  little  nettled,  stood  on  his  guard  in  return,  and  an- 
swered bluntly — 

"  What  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose  will  do,  I  can't  yet  say. 
What  it  ought  to  do,  I  have  a  pretty  sure  guess." 

"  So  have  I.  To  hunt  her  down  as  you  would  an  outlaw,  be- 
cause forsooth  she  has  dared  to  love  a  Catholic  ;  to  murder  her 
lover  in  her  arms,  and  drag  her  home  again  stained  with  his  blood, 
to  be  forced  by  threats  and  persecution  to  renounce  that  Church 
into  whose  maternal  bosom  she  has  doubtless  long  since  found 
rest  and  holiness  !  " 

"  If  she  has  found  holiness,  it  matters  little  to  me  where  she  has 
found  it,  Master  Eustace  :  but  that  is  the  very  point  that  I  should 
be  glad  to  know  for  certain." 

"  And  you  will  go  and  discover  for  yourself  ?  " 

"  Have  you  no  wish  to  discover  it  also  ?  " 

"  And  if  I  had,  what  would  that  be  to  you  ?  " 

"  Only,"  said  Amyas,  trying  hard  to  keep  his  temper,  "  that  if 
we  had  the  same  purpose,  we  might  sail  in  the  same  ship." 


WESTWARD  ffOi  83$ 

*•  You  intend  to  sail,  then  ?  '* 

"  I  mean  simply,  that  we  might  work  together." 

"  Our  paths  lie  on  very  different  roads,  sir  !  " 

"  I  am  afraid  you  never  spoke  a  truer  word,  sir.  In  the  mean* 
while,  ere  we  part,  be  so  kind  as  to  tell  me  what  you  meant  by 
saying  that  you  had  met  this  Spaniard  at  Lundy  ?  " 

"  I  shall  refuse  to  answer  that." 

"  You  will  please  to  recollect,  Eustace,  that  however  good 
friends  we  have  been  for  the  last  half-hour,  you  are  in  my  power. 
I  have  a  right  to  know  the  bottom  of  this  matter  ;  and,  by  Heaven, 
I  will  know  it." 

"  In  your  power  ?  See  that  you  are  not  in  mine  !  Remember, 
sir,  that  you  are  within  a— within  a  few  miles,  at  least,  of  those 
who  will  obey  me,  their  Catholic  benefactor  :  but  who  owe  no  al- 
legiance to  those  Protestant  authorities  who  have  left  them  to  the 
lot  of  the  beasts  which  perish." 

Amyas  was  very  angry.  He  wanted  but  little  more  to  make 
him  catch  Eustace  by  the  shoulders,  shake  the  life  out  of  him,  and 
deliver  him  into  the  tender  guardianship  of  Yeo  ;  but  he  knew 
that  to  take  him  at  all  was  to  bring  certain  death  on  him,  and  dis- 
grace on  the  family  ;  and  remembering  Frank's  conduct  on  that 
memorable  night  at  Clovelly,  he  kept  himself  down. 

"  Take  me,"  said  Eustace,  "  if  you  will,  sir.     You,  who  com- 

f)lain  of  us  that  we  keep  no  faith  with  heretics,  will  perhaps  recol- 
ect  that  you  asked  me  into  this  room  as  your  guest  :  and  that  in 
your  good  faith  I  trusted  when  I  entered  it." 

The  argument  was  a  worthless  one  in  law  ;  for  Eustace  had 
been  a  prisoner  before  he  was  a  guest,  and  Amyas  was  guilty  of 
something  very  like  misprision  of  treason  in  not  handing  him  over 
to  the  nearest  justice.  However,  all  he  did  was,  to  go  to  the  door, 
open  it,  and  bowing  to  his  cousin,  bid  him  walk  out  and  go  to  the 
devil,  since  he  seemed  to  have  set  his  mind  on  ending  his  days  in 
the  company  of  that  personage. 

Whereon  Eustace  vanished. 

"  Pooh  !  "  said  Amyas  to  himself:  "  I  can  find  out  enough,  and 
too  much  I  fear,  without  the  help  of  such  crooked  vermin.  I  must 
see  Cary  ;  I  must  see  Salterne  ;  and  I  suppose,  if  I  am  ready  to  do 
my  duty,  I  shall  learn  somehow  what  it  is.  Now  to  sleep  ;  to- 
morrow up  and  away  to  what  God  sends." 

"Come  in  hither,  men,"  shouted  he  down  the  passage,' "  and 
sleep  here.  Haven't  you  had  enough  of  this  villanous  sour 
cider  ?  " 

The  men  came  in  yawning,  and  settled  themselves  to  sleep  on 
the  floor. 

"  Where's  Yeo  ?  " 

No  one  knew ;  he  had  gone  out  to  say  his  prayers,  and  had  not 
returned. 

"  Never  mind,"  said  Amyas,  who  suspected  some  plot  on  the  old 
man's  part.     "  He'll  take  care  of  himself,  I'll  warrant  him." 

"  No  fear  of  that,  sir,"  and  the  four  tars  were  soon  snoring  in 


236  WESTIVARD  HO  7 

concert  round  the  fire,  while  Amyas  laid  himselfon  the  settle,  with 
his  saddle  for  a  pillow. 


It  was  about  midnight,  when  Amyas  leaped  to  his  feet,  or  rather 
fell  upon  his  back,  upsetting  saddle,  settle,  and  finally,  table,  under 
the  notion  that  ten  thousand  flying  dragons  were  bursting  in  the 
\\'indow  close  to  his  ear,  with  howls  most  fierce  and  fell.  The 
flying  dragons  past,  however,  being  only  a  flock  of  terror-stricken 
geese,  which  flew  flapping  and  screaming  round  the  corner  of  the 
house  :  but  the  noise  which  had  startled  them  did  not  pass  ;  and 
another  minute  made  it  evident  that  a  sharp  fight  was  going  on 
in  the  courtyard,  and  that  Yeo  was  hallooing  lustily  for  help. 

Out  turned  the  men,  sword  in  hand,  burst  the  back  door  open, 
stumbling  over  pails  and  pitchers,  and  into  the  courtyard,  where 
Yeo,  his  back  against  the  stable-door,  was  holding  his  own  manfully 
with  sword  and  buckler  against  a  dozen  men. 

Dire  and  manifold  was  the  screaming  ;  geese  screamed,  chickens 
screamed,  pigs  screamed,  donkeys  screamed,  Mary  screamed  from 
an  upper  window  ;  and  to  complete  the  chorus,  a  flock  of  plovers, 
attracted  by  the  noise,  wheeled  round  and  round  overhead,  and 
added  their  screams  also  to  that  Dutch  concert. 

The  screaming  went  on,  but  the  fighting  ceased  ;  for,  as  Amyas 
rushed  into  the  yard,  the  whole  party  of  ruffians  took  to  their  heels, 
and  vanished  over  a  low  hedge  at  the  other  end  of  the  yard. 

"  Are  you  hurt,  Yeo  ?  " 

"  Not  a  scratch,  thank  Heaven  !  But  I've  got  two  of  them,  the 
ringleaders,  I  have.  One  of  them's  against  the  wall.  Your  horse 
did  for  t'other." 

The  wounded  man  was  lifted  up  ;  a  huge  ruffian,  nearly  as  big 
as  Amyas  himself.  Yeo's  sword  had  passed  through  his  body. 
He  groaned  and  choked  for  breath. 

"  Carry  him  indoors.     Where  is  the  other  ?  " 

"  Dead  as  a  herring,  in  the  straw.  Have  a  care,  men,  have  a 
care  how  you  go  in  !  the  horses  are  near  mad  !  " 

However,  the  man  was  brought  out  after  a  while.  With  him 
all  was  over.     They  could  feel  neither  pulse  nor  breath. 

"  Carry  him  in  too,  poor  wretch.  And  now,  Yeo,  what  is  the 
meaning  of  all  this  ?  " 

Yeo's  story  was  soon  told.  He  could  not  get  out  of  his  Puritan 
head  the  notion  (quite  unfounded,  of  course)  that  Eustace  had 
meant  to  steal  the  horses.  He  had  seen  the  innkeeper  sneak  off 
at  their  approach  ;  and  expecting  some  night-attack,  he  had  taken 
up  his  lodging  for  the  night  in  the  stable. 

As  he  expected,  an  attempt  was  made.  The  door  was  opened 
(how,  he  could  not  guess,  for  he  had  fastened  it  inside),  and  two 
fellows  came  in,  and  began  to  loose  the  beasts.  Yeo's  account 
was,  that  he  seized  the  big  fellow,  who  drew  a  knife  on  him,  and 
broke  loose  ;  the  horses,  terrified  at  the  scuffle,  kicked  right  and 
left  ;  one  man  fell,  and  the  other  ran  out,  calling  for  help,  wltn 


WESTWARD  NO!  ^37 

Yeo  at  his  heels  ;  "  Whereon,"  said  Yeo,  "seeing  a  dozen  more 
on  me  with  clubs  and  bows,  I  thought  best  to  shorten  the  number 
while  I  could,  ran  the  rascal  through,  and  stood  on  my  ward  ;  and 
only  just  in  time  I  was,  what's  more  ;  there's  two  arrows  in  the 
house  wall,  and  two  or  three  more  in  my  buckler,  which  I  caught 
up  as  I  went  out,  for  I  had  hung  it  close  by  the  door,  you  see,  sir, 
to  be  all  ready  in  case,"  said  the  cunning  old  Philistine-slayer,  as 
they  went  in  after  the  wounded  man. 

But  hardly  had  they  stumbled  through  the  low  doorway  into  the 
back-kitchen  when  a  fresh  hubbub  arose  inside — more  shouts  for 
help.  Amyas  ran  forward  breaking  his  head  against  the  doorway, 
and  beheld,  as  soon  as  he  could  see  for  the  flashes  in  his  eyes,  an 
old  acquaintance,  held  on  each  side  by  a  sturdy  sailor. 

With  one  arm  in  the  sleeve  of  his  doublet,  and  the  other  in  a 
not  over  spotless  shirt  ;  holding  up  his  hose  with  one  hand,  and 
with  the  other  a  candle,  whereby  he  had  lighted  himself  to  his  own 
confusion  ;  foaming  with  rage,  stood  Mr.  Evan  Morgans,  alias 
Father  Parsons,  looking,  between  his  confused  habiliments  and 
his  fiery  visage  (as  Yeo  told  him  to  his  face),  "  the  very  moral  of 
a  half-plucked  turkey-cock."  And  behind  him,  dressed,  stood 
Eustace  Leigh. 

■  "  We  found  the  maid  letting  these  here  two  out  by  the  front 
door,"  said  one  of  the  captors. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Parsons,"  said  Amyas  ;  "  and  what  are  you  about 
here  ?  A  pretty  nest  of  thieves  and  Jesuits  we  seem  to  have  routed 
out  this  evening." 

"  About  my  calling,  sir,"  said  Parsons  stoutly.  "  By  your  leave, 
I  shall  prepare  this  my  wounded  lamb  for  that  account  to  which 
your  man's  cruelty  has  untimely  sent  him." 

The  wounded  man,  who  lay  upon  the  floor,  heard  Parsons'  voice, 
and  moaned  for  the  "  Patrico." 

"  You  see,  sir,"  said  he  pompously,  "  the  sheep  know  their  shep- 
herd's voice." 

"  The  wolves  you  mean,  you  hypocritical  scoundrel  !  "  said 
Amyas,  who  could  not  contain  his  disgust.  "  Let  the  fellow 
truss  up  his  points,  lads,  and  do  his  work.  After  all,  the  man  is 
dying." 

"The  requisite  matters,  sir,  are  not  at  hand,"  said  Parsons  un- 
abashed. 

"  Eustace,  go  and  fetch  his  matters  for  him  ;  you  seem  to  be  in 
all  his  plots." 

Eustace  went  silently  and  sullenly. 

"What's  that  fresh  noise  at  the  back,  now  ?  " 

"The  maid,  sir,  a  wailing  over  her  uncle  ;  the  fellow  that  we 
saw  sneak  away  when  we  came  up.     It  was  him  the  horse  killed." 

It  was  true.  The  wretched  host  had  slipped  off  on  their  ap- 
proach, simply  to  call  the  neighboring  outlaws  to  the  spoil  ;  and 
he  had  been  filled  with  the  fruit  of  his  own  devices. 

"His  blood  be  on  his  own  head,"  said  Amyas. 

"  I  question,  sir,"  said  Yeo  in  a  low  voice,  "  whether  some  of  it 


2^8  WESTWARD  HO! 

will  not  be  on  the  heads  of  those  proud  prelates  who  go  clothed  in 
purple  and  fine  linen,  instead  of  going  forth  to  convert  such  as  he, 
and  then  wonder  how  these  Jesuits  get  hold  of  them.  If  they  give 
place  to  the  devil  in  their  sheepfolds,  sure  he'll  corne  in  and  lodge 
there.     Look,  sir,  there's  a  sight  in  a  gospel  land  !  " 

And,  indeed,  the  sight  was  curious  enough.  For  Parsons  was 
kneeling  by  the  side  of  the  dying  man,  listening  earnestly  to  the 
confessron  which  the  man  sobbed  out  in  his  gibberish,  between  the 
spasms  of  his  wounded  chest.  Now  and  then  Parsons  shook  his 
head  ;  and  when  Eustace  returned  with  the  holy  wafer,  and  the 
oil  for  extreme  unction,  he  asked  him,  in  a  low  voice,  "  Balard, 
interpret  for  me." 

And  Euscace  knelt  down  on  the  other  side  of  the  sufferer,  and 
interpreted  his  thieves'  dialect  into  Latin  ;  and  the  dying  man 
held  a  hand  of  each,  and  turned  first  to  one  and  then  to  the  other 
stupid  eyes,— not  without  affection,  though,  and  gratitude. 

"  I  can't  stand  this  mummery  any  longer,"  said  Yeo.  "  Here's 
a  soul  perishing  before  my  eyes,  and  it's  on  my  conscience  to  speak 
a  word  in  season." 

"  Silence  i  "  whispered  Amyas,  holding  him  back  by  the  arm  ; 
"  he  knows  them,  and  he  don't  know  you  ;  they  are  the  first  who 
ever  spoke  to  him  as  if  he  had  a  soul  to  be  saved,  and  first  come, 
first  served  ;  you  can  do  no  good.  See,  the  man's  face  is  brighten- 
ing already." 

"But,  sir,  'tis  a  false  peace." 

"  At  all  events  he  is  confessing  his  sins,  Yeo  ;  and  if  that's  not 
good  for  him,  and  you,  and  me,  what  is  ?  " 

"  Yea,  Amen  !  sir  ;'  but  this  is  not  to  the  right  person." 
"  How  do  you  know  his  words  will  not  go  to  the  right  person  f^ter 
all,  though  he  may  not  send  them  there  ?     By  Heaven  !  the  man 
is  dead  !  " 

It  was  so.  The  dark  catalogue  of  brutal  deeds  had  been  gasped 
out ;  but  ere  the  words  of  absolution  could  follow,  the  head  had 
fallen  back,  and  all  was  over. 

"  Confession  in  extremis  is  sufficient,"  said  Parsons  to  Eustace 
("  Ballard,"  as  Parsons  called  him,  to  Aymas's  surprise),  as  he 
rose.  "  As  for  the  rest,  the  intention  will  be  accepted  instead  of 
the  act." 

"  The  Lord  have  mercy  on  his  soul  ! "  said  Eustace. 
"  His  soul  is  lost  before  our  very  eyes,"  said  Yeo. 
"  Mind  your  own  business,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Humph  ;  but  I'll  tell  you,  sir,  what  our  business  is,  if  you'll 
step  aside,  with  me.  I  find  that  poor  fellow  that  lies  dead  is  none 
other  than  the  leader  of  the  Gubbings  ;  the  king  of  them,  as  they 
dare  to  call  him." 

"  Well,  what  of  that  ?  " 

"  Mark  my  words  sir,  if  we  have  not  a  hundred  stout  rogue? 
upon  us  before  two  Yiours  are  out  ,  forgive  us  they  never  will  *  and 
if  we  get  off  with  our  lives,  which  I  don't  much  expect,  we  shall 
leave  our  horses  behind  :  for  we  can  hold  the  house,  sir,  wc)t 


WESTWARD  HO!  239 

enough  till  morning- :  but  the  courtyard  we  can't,  that's  certain  !  ** 

"  We  had  better  march  at  once,  then." 

"  Think,  sir  ;  if  they  catch  us  up — as  they  are  sure  to  do,  knowing 
the  country  better  than  we — how  will  our  shot  stand  their 
arrows  ?  " 

"  True,  old  wisdom  ;  we  must  keep  the  road  ;  and  we  must 
keep  together  ;  and  so  be  a  mark  for  them,  while  they  will  be 
behind  every  rock  and  bank  ;  and  two  or  three  flights  of  arrows 
will  do  our  business  for  us.  Humph  !  stay,  I  have  a  plan."  And 
stepping  forward  he  spoke — 

"  Eustace,  you  will  be  so  kind  as  to  go  back  to  your  lambs  ;  and 
tell  them,  that  if  they  meddle  with  us  cruel  wolves  again  to-night, 
we  are  ready  and  willing  to  fight  to  the  death,  and  have  plenty  of 
shot  and  powder  at  their  service.  Father  Parsons,  you  will  be  so 
kind  as  to  accompany  us  ;  it  is  but  fitting  that  the  shepherd  should 
be  hostage  for  his  sheep. 

"  If  you  carry  me  off  this  spot,  sir,  you  carry  my  corpse  only,'* 
said  Parsons.  "  I  may  as  well  die  here  as  be  hanged  elsewhere, 
like  my  martyred  brother  Campian." 

"If  you  take  him  you  must  take  me  too,"  said  Eustace. 

"  What  if  we  won't  ?  " 

•*  How  will  you  gain  by  that  ?  you  can  only  leave  me  here.  You 
iannot  make  me  go  to  the  Gubbings,  if  I  do  not  choose." 

Amyas  uttered  sotto  voce  an  anathema  on  Jesuits,  Gubbings, 
and  things  in  general.  He  was  in  a  great  hurry  to  get  to  Bide- 
ford,  and  he  feared  that  this  business  would  delay  him,  as  it  was, 
a  day  or  two.  He  wanted  to  hang  Parsons  :  he  did  not  want  to 
hang  Eustace  ;  and  Eustace,  he  knew,  was  well  aware  of  that  latter 
fact,  and  played  his  game  accordingly  :  but  time  ran  on,  and  he 
had  to  answer  sulkily  enough — 

"Well  then  ;  if  you,  Eustace,  will  go  and  give  my  message  to 
your  converts,  I  will  promise  to  set  Mr.  Parsons  free  again  before 
we  come  to  Lydford  town  ;  and  I  advise  you,  if  you  have  any  regard 
for  his  life,  to  see  that  your  eloquence  be  persuasive  enough  ;  for 
as  sure  as  I  am  an  Englishman,  and  he  none,  if  the  Gubbings  at- 
tack us,  the  first  bullet  that  I  shall  fire  at  them  will  have  gone 
through  his  scoundrelly  brains." 

Parsons  still  kicked. 

"  Very  well,  then,  my  merry  men  all.  Tie  this  gentleman's 
hands  behind  his  back,  get  the  horses  out,  and  we'll  right  away  up 
into  Dartmoor,  find  a  good  high  tor,  stand  our  ground  there  till 
morning,  and  then  carry  him  into  Okehampton  to  the  nearest 
justice.  If  he  chooses  to  delay  me  in  my  journey,  it  is  fair  that  I 
should  make  him  pay  for  it." 

Whereon  Parsons  gave  in,  and  being  fast  tied  by  his  arm  to 
Amyas's  saddle,  trudged  alongside  his  horse  for  several  weary 
miles,  while  Yeo  walked  by  his  side,  like  a  friar  by  a  condemned 
crimmal ;  and  in  order  to  keep  up  his  spirits,  told  him  the  woeful 
end  of  Nicholas  Saunders  the  Legate,  and  how  he  was  found 
starved  lo  death  in  a  bog. 


^40 


WESTWARD  HO. 


"  And  if  you  wish,  sir,  to  follow  in  his  blessed  steps,  which  I  heartv 
ily  hope  you  will  do,  you  have  only  to  go  over  that  big-  cow-backed 
hill  there  on  your  right  hand,  and  down  again  the  other  side  to 
Crawmere  pool,  and  there  you'll  find  as  pretty  a  bog  to  die  in  as 
ever  Jesuit  needed  :  and  your  ghost  may  sit  there  on  a  grass 
tummock,  and  tell  your  beads  without  any  one  asking  for  you  till 
the  day  of  judgment ;  and  much  good  may  it  do  you  !  \ 

At  which  imagination  Yeo  was  actually  heard,  for  the  first  and 
last  time  in  this  history,  to  laugh  most  heartily. 

His  ho-ho's  had  scarcely  died  away  when  they  saw  shining  under 
the  moon  the  old  Tower  of  Lydford  Castle. 

"Cast  the  fellow  off  now,"  said  Amyas. 

'•  Ay,  ay,  sir  !  "  and  Yeo  and  Simon  Evans  stopped  behind,  and 
did  not  come  up  for  ten  minutes  after. 

"  What  have  you  been  about  so  long  ? " 

"  Why,  sir,"  said  Evans,  "you  see  the  man  had  a  very  fair  pair 
of  hose  on,  and  a  bran-new  kersey  doublet,  very  warm-lined  ;  and 
so,  thinking  it  a  pity  good  clothes  should  be  wasted  on  such  nox- 
ious trade,  we've  just  brought  them  along  with  us." 

"  Spoiling  the  Egyptians,"  said  Yeo  as  comment. 

"  And  what  have  you  done  with  the  man  ?  " 

"  Hove  him  over  the  bank,  sir  ;  he  pitched  into  a  big  furze-bush, 
and  for  aught  I  know,  there  he'll  bide." 

*'  You  rascal,  have  you  killed  him  ?  " 

"  Never  fear,  sir,"  said  Yeo  in  his  cool  fashion.  "  A  Jesuit  has 
as  many  lives  as  a  cat,  and,  I  believe,  rides  broomsticks  post,  like 
a  witch.  He  would  be  at  Lydford  now  before  us,  if  his  master 
Satan  had  any  business  for  him  there." 

Leaving  on  their  left  Lydford  and  its  ill-omened  castle,  (which, 
a  century  after,  was  one  of  the  principal  scenes  of  Judge  Jeffreys's 
cruelty),  Amyas  and  his  party  trudged  on  through  the  mire  toward 
Okehampton  till  sunrise  ;  and  ere  the  vapors  had  lifted  from  the 
mountain  tops,  they  were  descending  the  long  slopes  from  Sourton 
down,  while  Yestor  and  Amicombe  slept  steep  and  black  beneath 
their  misty  pall  ;  and  roaring  far  below  unseen, 

"  Ockment  leapt  £rom  crag  and  cloud  .. 
Down  her  cataracts,  laughing  loud.'* 

The  voice  of  the  stream  recalled  these  words  to  Amyas's  mind. 
The  nymph  of  Torridge  had  spoken  them  upon  the  day  of  his 
triumph.  He  recollected,  too,  his  vexation  on  that  day  at  not  see- 
ing Rose  Salterne.  Why,  he  had  never  seen  her  since.  Never 
seen  her  now  for  six  years  and  more  !  Of  her  ripened  beauty  he 
knew  only  by  hearsay  ;  she  was  still  to  him  the  lovely  filteen 
years'  girl,  for  whose  sake  he  had  smitten  the  Barnstaple  draper 
over  the  quay.  What  a  chain  of  petty  accidents  had  kept  them 
from  meeting,  though  so  often  within  a'mile  of  each  other  !  "  And 
what  a  lucky  one  !"  said  practical  old  Amyas  to  himself.  "If  I 
had  seen  her  as  she  is  now,  I  might  have  loved  her  as  Frank  does 
—poor    Frank  !  what  will   he   say  ?     What   does  he  say,   for   he 


WESTWAI^D  HO  ! 


241 


must  know  it  already  ?  And  what  ought  I  to  say — to  do  rather, 
for  talking-  is  no  use  on  this  side  the  grave,  nor  on  the  other  either, 
I  expect  !  "  And  then  he  asked  himself  whether  his  old  oath  meant 
nothing  or  something;  whether  it  was  a  mere  tavern  frolic,  or  a 
sacred  duty.  And  he  held,  the  more  that  he  looked  at  it,  that  it 
meant  the  latter. 

But  what  could  he  do  ?  He  had  nothing  on  earth  but  his  sword, 
so  he  could  not  travel  to  find  her.  After  all,  she  might  not  be 
gone  far.  Perhaps  not  gone  at  all.  It  might  be  a  mistake,  an 
exaggerated  scandal.  He  would  hope  so.  And  yet  it  was  evident 
that  there  had  been  some  passages  between  her  and  Don  Guzman. 
Eustace's  mysterious  words  about  the  promise  at  Lundy  proved 
that.  The  villain  !  He  had  felt  all  along  that  he  was  a  villain  : 
but  just  the  one  to  win  a  woman's  heart,  too.  Frank  had  been 
away— all  the  Brotherhood  away.  What  a  fool  he  had  been,  to 
turn  the  wolf  loose  into  the  sheepfold  !  And  yet  who  would  have 
dreamed  of  it  .?  .  .  . 

"  At  all  events,"  said  Amyas,  trying  to  comfort  himself,  "  I  need 
not  complain.  I  have  lost  nothing.  I  stood  no  more  chance  of 
her  against  Frank  than  I  should  have  stood  against  the  Don.  So 
there  is  no  use  for  me  to  cry  about  the  matter."  And  he  tried  to 
hum  a  tune  concerning  the  general  frailty  of  women,  but  neverthe- 
less, like  Sir  Hugh,  felt  that  "  he  had  a  great  disposition  to  cry." 

He  never  had  expected  to  win  her,  and  yet  it  seemed  bitter  to 
know  that  she  was  lost  to  him  forever.  It  was  not  so  easy  for  a 
heart  of  his  make  to  toss  away  the  image  of  a  first  love  ;  and  all 
the  less  easy  because  that  image  was  stained  and  ruined. 
,  "  Curses  on  the  man  who  had  done  that  deed  !  I  will  yet  have 
his  heart's  blood  somehow,  if  I  go  round  the  world  again  to  find 
him.  If  there's  no  law  for  it  on  earth,  there's  law  in  heaven,  or 
I'm  much  mistaken." 

With  which  determination  he  rode  into  the  ugly,  dirty,  and 
stupid  town  of  Okehampton,  with  which  fallen  man  (by  some 
strange  perversity)  has  chosen  to  defile  one  of  the  loveliest  sites 
in  the  pleasant  land  of  Devon.  And  heartily  did  Amyas  abuse  the 
old  town  that  day  ;  for  he  was  detained  the're,  as  he  expected,  full 
three  hours,  while  the  Justice  Shallow  of  the  place  was  sent  for 
from  his  farm  (whither  he  had  gone  at  sunrise,  after  the  early-rising 
fashion  of  those  days)  to  take  Yeo's  deposition  concerning  last 
night's  affray.  Moreover,  when  Shallow  came,  he  refused  to  take 
the  depositions,  because  they  ought  to  have  been  made  before  a 
brother  Shallow  at  Lydford  ;  and  in  the  wrangling  which  ensued, 
was  very  near  finding  out  what  Amyas  (fearing  fresh  loss  of  time 
and  worse  evils  beside)  had  commanded  to  be  concealed,  namely, 
the  presence  of  Jesuits  in  that  Moorland  Utopia.  Then,  in  broadest 
Devon — 

"  And  do  you  call  this  Christian  conduct,  sir,  to  set  a  quiet  man 
like  me  upon  they  Gubbings,  as  if  I  was  going  to  risk  my  precious 
life— no,  nor  ever  a  constable  to  Okehampton  neither?  Let  Lyd- 
f©r*  men  mind  Lydfor'  roogs,  and  by  Lydfor'  law  if  they  will,  hang 


24: 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


first  and  try  after  ;  but  as  for  me,  I've  rade  my  Bible,  and  '  He 
that  meddleth  with  strife  is  like  him  that  taketh  a  dog  by  the 
ears'.  So  if  you  choose  to  sit  down  and  ate  your  breakfast 
with  me,  well  and  good  :  but  depositions  I'll  have  none.  If 
your  man's  inquired  for,  you'll  be  answerable  for  his  appear- 
ing in  course  ;  but  I  expect  mortally "  (with  a  wink),  "  you 
waint  hear  much  more  of  the  matter  from  any  hand.  '  Leave  well 
alone  is  a  good  rule,  but  leave  ill  alone  is  a  better.' — So  we  says 
round  about  here ;  and  so  you'll  say,  captain,  when  you  be  so  old 
as  I." 

So  Amyas  sat  down  and  ate  his  breakfast,  and  went  on  after- 
wards a  long  and  weary  day's  journey,  till  he  saw  at  last  beneath  him 
the  broad  shining  river,  and  the  long  bridge,  and  the  white  houses 
piled  up  the  hill-side  ;  and  beyond,  over  Raleigh  downs,  the  dear 
old  tower  of  Northam  Church. 

Alas  !  Northam  was  altogether  a  desert  to  him  then  ;  and  Bide- 
ford,  as  it  turned  out  hardly  less  so.  For  when  he  rode  up  to 
Sir  Richard's  door,  he  found  that  the  good  Knight  was  still  in 
Ireland,  and  Lady  Grenvile  at  Stow.  Whereupon  he  rode  back 
again  down  the  High  Street  to  that  same  bow-windowed  Ship 
Tavern  where  the  Brotherhood  of  the  Rose  made  their  vow,  and 
settled  himself  in  the  very  room  where  they  had  supped. 

"  Ah  !  Mr.  Leigh — Captain  Leigh  now,  I  beg  pardon,"  quoth 
mine  host.  "  Bideford  is  an  empty  place  now-a-days,  and  nothing 
stirring,  sir.  What  with  Sir  Richard  to  Ireland,  and  Sir  John  to 
London,  and  all  the  young  gentlemen  to  the  wars,  there's  no  one 
to  buy  good  liquor,  and  no  one  to  court  the  young  ladies,  neither. 
Sack,  sir  ?  I  hope  so.  I  haven't  brewed  a  gallon  of  it  this  fort- 
night, if  you'll  believe  me  ;  ale,  sir,  and  aqua  vitae,  and  such  low- 
bred trade,  is  all  I  draw  now-a-days.  Try  a  pint  of  sherry,  sir, 
now,  to  give  you  an  appetite.  You  mind  my  sherry  of  old  ?  Jane  ! 
Sherry  and  sugar,  quick,  while  I  pull  off  the  captain's  boots." 
Amyas  sat  weary  and  sad,  while  the  innkeeper  chattered  on. 
"  Ah,  sir  !  two  or  three  like  you  would  set  the  young  ladies  all 
alive  again.  By-the-by,  there's  been  strange  doings  among  them 
since  you  were  here  last.     You  mind  Mistress  Salterne  !  " 

"For  God's  sake,  don't  let  us  have  that  story,  man  !  I  heard 
enough  of  it  at  Plymouth  !  "  said  Amyas,  in  so  disturbed  a  tone 
that  mine  host  looked  up,  and  said  to  himself — 

"  Ah,  poor  young  gentleman,  he's  one  of  the  hard  hit  ones." 
"  How  is  the  old  man  ?  "  asked  Amyas,  after  a  pause. 
"  Bears  it  well  enough,  sir  ;  but  a  changed  man.  Never  speaks 
to  a  soul,  if  he  can  help  it.  Some  folks  say  he's  not  right  in  his 
head  ;  or  turned  miser,  or  somewhat,  and  takes  nought  but  bread 
and  water,  and  sits  up  all  night  in  the  room  as  was  hers,  turning 
over  her  garments.  Heaven  knows  what's  on  his  mind — they  do 
say  he  was  over  hard  on  her,  and  that  drove  her  to  it.  All  I  know 
is,  he  has  never  been  in  here  for  a  drop  of  liquor  (and  he  came  as 
regular  every  evening  as  the  town  clock,  sir)  since  she  went,  ex- 
cept a  ten  days  ago,  and  then  he  met  young  Mr.  Gary  at  the  door. 


WESTWARD  no  ! 


243 


and  I  heard  him  ask  Mr.  Gary  when  you  would  be  home,  sir." 

"  Put  on  my  boots  again.     I'll  go  and  see  him." 

"  Bless  you,  sir  !     What,  without  your  sack  "i  " 

"  Drink  it  yourself,  man." 

"  But  you  wouldn't  go  out  again  this  time  o'  night  on  an  empty 
stomach,  now  ?  " 

"  Fill  my  men's  stomachs  for  them,  and  never  mind  mine.  It's 
market-day;  is  it  not  ?  Send  out,  and  see  whether  Mr.  Gary  is 
still  in  town  ;  "  and  Amyas  strode  out,  and  along  the  quay  to 
Bridgeland  Street,  and  knocked  at  Mr.  Salterne's  door. 

Salterne  himself  opened  it,  with  his  usual  stern  courtesy. 

"I  saw  you  coming  up  the  street,  sir.  I  have  been  expecting 
this  honor  from  you  for  some  time  past.  I  dreamt  of  you  only  last 
night,  and  many  a  night  before  that  too.  Welcome,  sir,  into  a 
lonely  house.     I  trust  the  good  knight,  your  general,  is  well." 

"  The  good  knight  my  general  is  with  God  who  made  him,  Mr. 
Salterne." 

"Dead,  sir  ?" 

"  Founded  at  sea  on  our  way  home  ;  and  the  Delight  lost  too.** 

"  Humph  !  "  growled  Salterne,  after  a  minute's  silence.  "  I  had 
a  venture  in  her,  I  suppose  it's  gone.  No  matter — I  can  afford 
it,  sir,  and  more,  I  trust.  And  he  was  three  years  younger  than 
I !  And  Draper  Heard  was  buried  yesterday,  five  years  younger. 
— How  is  it  that  every  one  can  die,  except  me  ?  Gome  in,  sir, 
come  in  ;  I  have  forgotten  my  manners." 

And  he  led  Amyas  into  his  parlor,  and  called  to  the  apprentices 
to  run  one  way,  and  to  the  cook  to  run  another. 

"  You  must  not  trouble  yourself  to  get  me  supper,  indeed." 

"  I  must  though,  sir,  and  the  best  of  wine  too  ;  and  old  Salterne 
had  a  good  tap  of  Alicant  in  the  old  time,  old  time,  old  time,  sir  1 
and  you  must  drink  it  now,  whether  he  does  or  not !  "  and  out  he 
bustled. 

Amyas  sat  still,  wondering  what  was  coming  next,  and  puzzled 
at  the  sudden  hilarity  of  the  man,  as  well  as  his  hospitality,  so 
different  from  what  the  innkeeper  had  led  him  to  expect. 

In  a  minute  more  one  of  the  apprentices  came  in  to  lay  the  cloth, 
and  Amyas  questioned  him  about  his  master. 

"  Thank  the  Lord  that  you  are  come,  sir,"  said  the  lad. 

"  Why,  then  ?  " 

"  Because  there'll  be  a  chance  of  us  poor  fellov/s  getting  a  little 
broken  meat.  We'm  half-starved  this  three  months — bread  and 
dripping,  bread  and  dripping,  oh  dear,  sir  !  And  now  he's  sent 
out  to  the  inn  for  chickens,  and  game,  and  salads,  and  all  that 
money  can  buy,  and  down  in  the  cellar  haling  out  the  best  of 
wine," — And  the  lad  smacked  his  lips  audibly  at  the  thought. 
"  Is  he  out  of  his  mind  ?  " 

'•  I  can't  tell ;  he  saith  as  how  he  must  save  mun's  money  now- 
a-days  ;  for  he's  got  a  great  venture  on  hand  :  but  what  a  be  he 
tell'th  no  man.  They  call'th  mun  '  bread  and  dripping'  now,  sir, 
all  town  over,"  said  the  prentice^  confidentially,  to  Amyas. 


244  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

"  They  do,  do  they,  sirrah  I  Then  they  will  call  me  bread  and 
no  dripping  to-morrow  !  "  and  old  Salterne,  entering  from  behind, 
made  a  dash  at  the  poor  fellow's  ears  :  but  luckily  thought  better 
of  it,  having  a  couple  of  bottles  in  each  hand. 

"  My  dear  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "you  don't  mean  us  to  drink  all 
that  wine  ?  " 

"Why  not,  sir?"  answered  Salterne,  in  a  grim,  half-sneering 
tone,  thrusting  out  his  square-grizzled  beard  and  chin.  "  Why 
not,  sir  ?  why  should  I  not  make  merry  when  I  have  the  honor  of 
a  noble  captain  in  my  house  ?  one  who  has  sailed  the  seas,  sir, 
and  cut  Spaniards'  throats  ;  and  may  cut  them  again  too  ;  eh,  sir  ! 
Boy,  where's  the  kettle  and  the  sugar  ?  " 

"  What  on  earth  is  the  man  at  ?  "  quoth  Amyas  to  himself — 
"  flattering  me,  or  laughing  at  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  he  ran  on,  half  to  himself,  in  a  deliberate  tone,  evidently 
intending  to  hint  more  than  he  said,  as  he  began  brewing  the  sack 
■ — in  plain  English,  hot  negus  ;  "  Yes,  bread  and  dripping  for  those 
who  can't  fight  Spaniards  ;  but  the  best  that  money  can  buy  for 

those  who  can.     I  heard   of  you  at  Smerwick,  sir Yes,  bread 

and  dripping  for  me  too — I  can't  fight  Spaniards  :  but  for  such  as 
you.  Look  here,  sir  ;  I  should  like  to  feed  a  crew  of  such  up,  as 
you'd  feed  a  main  of  fighting-cocks,  and  then  start  them  with  a 
pair  of  Sheffield  spurs  a-piece — you've  a  good  one  there  to  your 
side,  sir :  but  don't  you  think  a  man  might  carry  two  now,  and 
fight  as  they  say  those  Chineses  do,  a  sword  to  each  hand  ?  You 
could  kill  more  that  way,  Captain  Leigh,  I  reckon  .-^ " 

Amyas  half  laughed. 

"One  will  do,  Mr.  Salterne,  if  one  is  quick  enough  with  it." 

"  Humph  ! — Ah — No  use  being  in  a  hurry.  I  haven't  been  in  a 
hurry.  No — I  waited  for  you  ;  and  here  you  are  and  welcome, 
sir  !  Here  comes  supper  :  a  light  matter,  sir,  you  see.  A  capon 
and  a  brace  of  partridges.  I  had  no  time  to  feast  you  as  you  de- 
serve." 

And  so  he  ran  on  all  supper-time,  hardly  allowing  Amyas  to  get 
a  word  in  edge  ways  :  but  heaping  him  with  coarse  flattery,  and 
urging  him  to  drink,  till  after  the  cloth  was  drawn,  and  the  two 
left  alone,  he  grew  so  outrageous  that  Amyas  was  forced  to  take 
him  to  task  good  humoredly. 

"Now,  my  dear  sir,  you  have  feasted  me  royally,  and  better  far 
than  I  deserve  :  but  why  will  you  go  about  to  make  me  drunk 
twice  over,  first  with  vainglory  and  then  with  wine  .'' " 

Salterne  looked  at  him  a  while  fixedly,  and  then,  sticking  out 
his  chin — "  Because,  Captain  Leigh,  I  am  a  man  who  has  all  his 
life  tried  the  crooked  road  first,  and  found  the  straight  one  the 
safer  after  all." 

"  Eh,  sir  1  That  is  a  strange  speech  for  one  who  bears  the  char- 
acter of  the  most  upright  man  .in  Bideford." 

"Humph.  So  I  thought*myself  once,  sir  ;  and  well  I  have  proved 
it.  But  I'll  be  plain  with  you,  sir.  You've  heard  how — how  I've 
fared  since  you  saw  me  last  ?  " 


WESTWARD  HO!  245 

Amyas  nodded  his  head. 

"  I  thought  so.  Shame  rides  post.  Now  then,  Captain  Leigh, 
listen  to  me.  I,  being  a  plain  man  and  a  burgher,  and  one  that 
never  drew  iron  in  my  Hfe  except  to  mend  a  pen,  ask  you,  being  a 
gentleman  and  a  captain  and  a  man  of  honor,  with  a  weapon  to 
your  side,  and  harness  to  your  back—what  would  you  do  in  my 
place  ? " 

"  Humph  !"  said  Amyas,  "that  would  very  much  depend  on 
whether  '  my  place  '  was  my  own  fault  or  not." 

"  And  what  if  it  were,  sir  ?  What  if  all  that  the  charitable  folks 
of  Bideford — (Heaven  reward  them  for  their  tender  mercies!) — 
have  been  telling  you  in  the  last  hour  be  true,  sir,-— true  !  and  yet 
not  half  the  truth  ?  " 

Amyas  gave  a  start. 

"Ah,  you  shrink  from  me  !  Of  course  a  man  is  too  righteous 
to  forgive  those  who  repent,  though  God  is  not." 

"God  knows,  sir " 

"  Yes,  sir,  God  does  know — all  ;  and  you  shall  know  a  little — as 
much  as  I  can  tell — or  you  understand.  Come  upstairs  with  me, 
sir,  as  you'll  drink  no  more  ;  I  have  a  liking  for  3^ou.  I  have 
watched  you  from  your  boyhood,  and  I  can  trust  you,  and  I'll  show 
you  what  I  never  showed  to  mortal  man  but  one." 

And,  taking  up  a  candle,  he  led  the  way  upstairs,  while  Amyas 
followed  wondering. 

He  stopped  at  a  door,  and  unlocked  it, 

"There,  come  in.  Those  shutters  have  not  been  opened  since 
she "  and  the  old  man  was  silent. 

Amyas  looked  round  the  room.  It  was  a  low  wainscoted  room, 
such  as  one  sees  in  old  houses  :  everything  was  in  the  most  per- 
fect neatness.  The  snow-white  sheets  on  the  bed  were  turned 
down  as  if  ready  for  anoccwpant.  There  were  books  arranged  on 
the  shelves,  fresh  flowers  on  the  table  ;  the  dressing-table  had  all 
its  woman's  mundus  of  pins,  and  rings,  and  brushes  ;  even  the 
dressing-gown  lay  over  the  chair-back.  Everything  was  evidently 
just  as  it  had  been  left. 

"  This  was  her  room,  sir,"  whispered  the  old  man. 

Amyas  nodded  silently,  and  half  drew  back. 

"  You  need  not  be  modest  about  centering  it  now,  sir,"  whispered 
he,  with  a  sort  of  sneer.  "  There  has  been  no  frail  flesh  and  blood 
in  it  for  many  a  day." 

Amyas  sighed. 

"  I  sweep  it  out  myself  every  morning,  and  keep  all  tidy.  See 
here  !  "  and  he  pulled  open  a  drawer.  "  Here  are  all  her  gowns, 
and  there  are  her  hoods  ;  and  there— I  know  'em  all  by  heart 
now,  and  the  place  of  every  one.     And  there,  sir — — " 

And  he  opened  a  cupboard,  where  lay  in  rows  all  Rose's  dolls, 
and  the  worn-out  playthings  of  her  childhood. 

"  That's  the  pleasantest  place  of  all  in  the  room  to  me,"  said  he, 
whispering  still :  "  for  it  minds  me  of  when — and  maybe,  she  mav 


246  WESTWARD  HOI 

become  a  little  child  once  more,  sir  ;  it's  written  in  the  Scripture, 

you  know " 

"  Amen  !  "  said  Amyas,  who  felt,  to  his  own  wonder,  a  big  tear 
stealing  down  each  cheek. 

"  And  now,"  he  whispered,  "  one  thing  more.  Look  here  !  " — 
and  pulling  out  a  key,  he  unlocked  a  chest,  and  lifted  up  tray  after 
tray  of  necklaces  and  jewels,  furs,  lawns,  cloth  of  gold.  "  Look 
there  !.  Two  thousand  pound  won't  buy  that  chest.  Twenty 
years  have  I  been  getting  those  things  together.  That's  the  cream 
of  many  a  Levant  voyage,  and  East  Indian  voyage,  and  West 
Indian  voyage.  My  Lady  Bath  can't  match  those  pearls  in  her 
grand  house  atTawstock  ;  I  got 'em  from  a  Genoese,  though,  and 
paid  for  'em.  Look  at  that  embroidered  lawn  !  There's  not  such 
a  piece  in  London  ;  no,  nor  in  Alexandria,  I'll  warrant  ;  nor  short 
of'Calicut,  where  it  came  from.  .  .  Look  here  again,  there's  a 
golden  cup  !  I  bought  that  of  one  that  was  out  with  Pizarro  in 
Peru.  And  look  here,  again  1" — and  the  old  man  gloated  over 
the  treasure. 

"  And  whom  do  you  think  I  kept  all  these  for  ?  These  were 
for  her  wedding-day — for  her  wedding-day.  For  your  wedding- 
day,  if  you'd  been  minded,  sir  !  Yes,  yours,  sir  !  And  yet,  I 
believe,  I  was  so  ambitious  that  I  would  not  have  let  her  marry 
under  an  earl,  all  the  while  I  was  pretending  to  be  too  proud  to 
throw  her  at  the  head  of  a  squire's  son.  Ah  well  !  There  was 
my  idol,  sir.  I  made  her  mad,  I  pampered  her  up  with  gew- 
gaws and  vanity,  ;  and  then,  because  my  idol  was  just  what  I 
had  made  her,  I  turned  again  and  rent  her. 

"  And  now,"  said  he,  pointing  to  the  open  chest,  "  that  was 
what  I  meant  ;  and  that  "  (pointing  to  the  empty  bed)  "  was 
what  God  meant.  Never  mind.  Come  downstairs  and  finish 
your  wine.  I  see  you  don't  care  about  it  all.  Why  should  you  ! 
you  are  not  her  father,  and  you  may  thank  God  you  are  not. 
Go,  and  be  merry  while  you  can,  young  sir  !  .  .  .  And  yet, 
all  this  might  have  been  yours.  And — but  I  don't  suppose  you 
are  one  to  be  won  by  money — but  all  this  may  be  yours  still 
and  twenty  thousand  pounds  to  boot." 

"  I  want  no  money,  sir,  but  what  I  can  earn  with  my  own 
sword." 

"  Earn  my  money,  then  !  " 

"  What  on  earth  do  you  want  of  me  !  " 

"  To  keep  your  oath,"  said  Salterne,  clutching  his  arm,  and 
looking  up  into  his  face  with  searching  eyes. 

"  My  oath  !     How  did  you  know  that  I  had  one  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  you  were  well  ashamed  of  it,  I  suppose,  next  day  \ 
A  drunken  frolic  all  about  a  poor  merchant's  daughter  !  But 
there  is  nothing  hidden  that  shall  not  be  revealed,  nor  done  in 
the  closet  that  is  not  proclaimed  on  the  house-tops." 

"  Ashamed  of  it,  sir,  I  never  was  :  but  I  have  a  right  to  asl( 
how  you  came  to  know  it  ?  " 

*•  What  if  a  poor  fat  squinny  rogue,  a  low-born  fellow   ever! 


WESTWARD  I/O  !  247 

as  I  am,  whom  you  had  baffled  and  made  a  laughing-stock,  had 
come  to  me  in  my  loneliness  and  sworn  before  God  that  if  you 
honorable  gentlemen  would  not  keep  your  words,  he  the  clowc 
would  ?  " 

*•  John  Brimblecombe  ?  " 

"  And  what  if  I  had  brought  him  where  I  have  brought  you, 
and  shown  him  what  I  have  shown  you,  and  instead  of  standing 
as  stiff  as  any  Spaniard,  as  you  do,  he  had  thrown  himself  on  his 
knees  by  that  bedside,  and  wept  and  prayed,  sir,  till  he  opened 
my  hard  heart  for  the  first  and  last  time,  and  I  fell  down  on  my 
sinful  knees  and  wept  and  prayed  by  him  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  given  to  weeping,  Mr.  Salterne,"  said  Amyas  ; 
"  and  as  for  praying,  I  don't  know  yet  what  I  have  to  pray  for, 
on  her  account  :  my  business  is  to  work.  Show  me  what  I  can 
do  ;  and  when  you  have  done  that,  it  will  be  full  time  to  upbraid 
me  with  not  doing  it." 

"  You  can  cut  that  fellow's  throat." 

"  It  will  take  a  long  arm  to  reach  him." 

'•  I  suppose  it  is  as  easy  to  sail  to  the  Spanish  Main  as  it  was 
to  sail  round  the  world." 

••  My  good  sir,"  said  Amyas,  "  I  have  at  this  moment  no  more 
worldly  goods  than  my  clothes  and  my  sword  ;  so  how  to  sail  to 
the  Spanish  Main,  I  don't  quite  see." 

"  And  do  you  suppose,  sir,  that  I  should  hint  to  you  of  such  a 
voyage  if  I  meant  you  to  be  at  the  charge  of  it  ?  No,  sir  ;  if  you 
want  two  thousand  pounds,  or  five,  to  fit  a  ship,  take  it  I  Take 
it,  sir  ! — I  hoarded  money  for  my  child  :  and  now  I  will  spend  it 
to  avenge  her." 

Amyas  was  silent  for  a  while  ;  the  old  man  still  held  his  arm, 
Still  looked  up  steadfastly  and  fiercely  in  his  face. 

"  Bring  me  home  that  man's  head,  and  take  ship,  prizes — all  ! 
Keep  the  gain,  sir,  and  give  me  the  revenge  !  " 

"  Gain  ?  Do  you  think  I  need  bribing,  sir  ?  What  kept  me 
silent  was  the  thought  of  my  mother  ;  I  dare  not  go  without  her 
leave." 

Salterne  made  a  gesture  of  impatience. 

"  I  dare  not,  sir  ;  I  must  obey  my  parent,  whatever  else  I  do.* 

"  Humph  !  "  said  he.  "  If  others  had  obeyed  theirs  as  well  !-^ 
But  you  are  right,  Captain  Leigh,  right.  You  will  prosper,  who- 
ever else  does  not.  Now,  sir,  good-night,  if  you  will  let  me  be 
the  first  to  say  so.  My  old  eyes  grow  heavy  early  now-a-days. 
Perhaps  it's  old  age,  perhaps  it's  sorrow." 

So  Amyas  departed  to  the  inn,  and  there,  to  his  great  joy, 
found  Gary  waiting  for  him,  from  whom  he  learnt  details,  which 
must  be  kept  for  another  chapter,  and  which  I  shall  tell,  for  con- 
vcnience'  sake,  in  my  own  words  and  not  in  his. 


f48  WESTWARD  HO! 


CHAPTER   XV. 

HOW  MR.  JOHN  BRIMBLECOMBE  UNDERSTOOD  THE  KATORC 

OF  AN  OATH. 

"  The  Kynge  of  Spayn  is  a  foul  paynim. 
And  liveth  on  Mahound  ; 
And  pity  it  were  that  lady  fayre 
Should  marry  a  heathen  hound." — Kyng  Estmere. 

About  six  weeks  after  the  duel,  the  miller  at  Stow  had  come 
up  to  the  great  house  in  much  tribulation,  to  borrow  the  blood- 
hounds. Rose  Salterne  had  vanished  in  the  night,  no  man  knew 
whither. 

Sir  Richard  was  in  Bideford  :  but  the  old  steward  took  on  him- 
self to  send  for  the  keepers,  and  down  went  the  serving  men  to 
the  Mill  with  all  the  idle  lads  of  the  parish  at  their  heels,  thinking 
a  maiden-hunt  very  good  sport  ;  and  of  course  taking  a  view  of 
the  case  as  favorable  as  possible  to  Rose. 

They  reviled  the  miller  and  his  wife  roundly  for  hard-hearted 
old  heathens  ;  and  had  no  doubt  that  they  had  driven  the  poor 
maid  to  throw  herself  over  cliff,  or  drown  herself  in  the  sea  ;  while 
all  the  women  of  Stow,  on  the  other  hand,  were  of  unanimous 
opinion  that  the  huzzy  had  "gone  off"  with  some  bad  fellow; 
and  that  pride  was  sure  to  have  a  fall,  and  so  forth. 

The  facts  of  the  case  were,  that  all  Rose's  trinkets  were  left 
behind,  so  that  she  had  at  least  gone  off  honestly  ;  and  nothing 
seemed  to  be  missing,  but  some  of  her  linen,  which  old  Anthony 
the  steward  broadly  hinted  was  likely  to  be  found  in  other  people  s 
boxes.  The  only  trace  was  a  little  footmark  under  her  bedroom 
window.  On  that  the  bloodhound  was  laid  (of  course  in  leash), 
and  after  a  premonitory  whimper,  lifted  up  his  mighty  voice,  and 
started  bell-mouthed  through  the  garden  gate,  and  up  the  lane, 
towing  behind  him  the  panting  keeper,  till  they  reached  the 
downs  above,  and  went  straight  away  for  Marslandmouth,  where 
the  whole  posse  comitatus  pulled  up  breathless  at  the  door  of 
L'icy  Passmore. 

Lucy,  as  perhaps  I  should  have  said  before,  was  now  a  widow, 
and  found  her  widowhood  not  altogether  contrary  to  her  interest. 
Her  augury  about  her  old  man  had  been  fulfilled  ;  he  had  never 
returned  since  the  night  on  which  he  put  to  sea  with  Eustace 
and  the  Jesuits. 

"  Some  natural  tears  she  shed,  but  dried  them  soon." 

as  many  of  them,  at  least,  as  were  not  required  for  purposes  of 
business  ;  and  then  determined  to  prevent  suspicion  by  a  bold 
TPove  ;  she  started  off  to  Stow,  and^  told  Lady  Grenvilc  a  most 


WESTWARD  HO!  249 

pathetic  tale  ;  how  her  husband  had  gone  out  to  pollock  fishing, 
and  never  returned  :  but  how  she  had  heard  horsemen  gallop 
past  her  window  in  the  dead  of  night,  and  was  sure  they  must 
have  been  the  Jesuits,  and  that  they  had  carried  off  her  old  man 
by  main  force,  and  probably,  after  mai<ing  use  of  his  services, 
had  killed  and  salted  him  down  for  provision  on  their  voyage 
back  to  the  Pope  at  Rome  ;  after  which  she  ended  by  entreating 
protection  against  those  "  Popish  skulkers  up  to  Chapel,"  who 
were  sworn  to  do  her  a  mischief ;  and  by  an  appeal  to  Lady  Gren- 
vile's  sense  of  justice,  as  to  whether  the  queen  ought  not  to  allow 
her  a  pension,  for  having  had  her  heart's  love  turned  into  a  sainted 
martyr  by  the  hands  of  idolatrous  traitors. 

Lady  Grenvile  (who  had  a  great  opinion  of  Lucy's  medical 
skill,  and  always  sent  for  her  if  one  of  the  children  had  a  "  housty," 
i.  e.  sore  throat)  went  forth  and  pleaded  the  case  before  Sir  Rich- 
ard with  such  effect,  that  Lucy  was  on  the  whole  better  off  than 
ever  for  the  next  two  or  three  years.  But  now — what  had  she  to 
do  with  Rose's  disappearance  ?  and,  indeed,  where  was  she  her- 
self ?  Her  door  was  fast  ;  and  round  it  her  flock  of  goats  stood, 
crying  in  vain  for  her  to  come  and  milk  them  ;  while  from  the 
down  above,  her  donkeys,  wandering  at  their  own  sweet  will, 
answered  the  bay  of  the  bloodhound  with  a  burst  of  harmony. 

•*  They'm  laughing  at  us,  keeper,  they  neddies  ;  sure  enough, 
we'm  lost  our  labor  here." 

But  the  bloodhound,  after  working  about  the  door  a  while, 
turned  down  the  glen,  and  never  stopped  till  he  reached  the 
margin  of  the  sea. 

"  They'm  taken  water.  Let's  go  back,  and  rout  out  the  old 
witche's  house." 

"  'Tis  just  like  that  old  Lucy,  to  lock  a  poor  maid  into  shame." 

And  returning,  they  attacked  the  cottage,  and  by  a  general 
plebiscitum,  ransacked  the  little  dwelling,  partly  in  indignation, 
and  partly,  if  the  truth  be  told,  in  the  hope  of  plunder  :  but  plun- 
der there  was  none.  Lucy  had  decamped  with  all  her  movable 
wealth,  saving  the  huge  black  cat  among  the  embers,  who  at  the 
sight  of  the  bloodhound  vanished  up  the  chimney  (some  said  with 
a  strong  smell  of  brimstone),  and  being  viewed  outside,  was 
chased  into  the  woods,  where  she  lived,  I  doubt  not,  many  happy 
years,  a  scourge  to  all  the  rabbits  of  the  glen. 

The  goats  and  donkeys  were  driven  off  up  to  Stow;  and  the 
mob  returned,  a  little  ashamed  of  themselves  when  their  brief 
wrath  was  past ;  and  a  little  afraid,  too,  of  what  Sir  Richard 
might  say. 

He,  when  he  returned,  sold  the  donkeys  and  goats,  and  gave 
fhe  money  to  the  poor,  promising  to  refund  the  same,  if  Lucy  re- 
turned and  gave  herself  up  to  justice.  But  Lucy  did  not  return  ; 
and  her  cottage,  from  which  the  neighbors  shrank  as  from  a 
haunted  place,  remained  as  she  had  left  it,  and  crumbled  slowly 
down  to  four  fern-covered  walls,  past  which  the  little  stream  weni 


250 


WESTWARD  HO  f 


murmuring  on  from  pool  to  pool — the  only  voice,  for  many  a  year 
to  come,  which  broke  the  silence  of  that  lonely  glen. 

A  few  days  afterwards,  Sir  Richard,  on  his  way  from  Bideford 
to  Stow,  looi<ed  in  at  Clovelly  Court,  and  mentioned,  with  a  "  by 
the  by,"  news  which  made  Will  Cary  leap  from  his  seat  almost  to 
the  ceiling-.     What  it  was  we  know  already. 

"  And  there  is  no  clue  ?  "  asked  old  Cary  ;  for  his  son  was 
speechless. 

"  Only  this  ;  I  hear  that  some  fellow  prowling  about  the  cliffs 
that  night  saw  a  pinnace  running  for  Lundy." 

Will  rose,  and  went  hastily  out  of  the  room. 

In  half-an-hour,  he  and  three  or  four  armed  servants  were  on 
board  a  trawling-skiff,  and  away  to  Lundy.  He  did  not  return 
for  three  days,  and  then  brought  news  :  that  an  elderly  man, 
seemingly  a  foreigner,  had  been  lodging  for  some  months  past 
in  a  part  of  the  ruined  Moresco  Castle,  which  was  tenanted  by 
one  John  Braund  ;  that  a  few  weeks  since  a  younger  man,  a  for- 
eigner also,  had  joined  him  from  on  board  a  ship  :  the  ship  a 
Flushinger,  or  Easterling  of  some  sort.  The  ship  came  and  went 
more  than  once  ;  and  the  young  man  in  her.  A  few  days  since, 
a  lady  and  her  maid,  a  stout  woman,  came  with  him  up  to  the 
castle,  and  talked  with  the  elder  man  a  long  while  in  secret  ; 
abode  there  all  night  ;  and  then  all  three  sailed  in  the  morning. 
The  fishermen  on  the  beach  had  heard  the  young  man  call  the 
other  father.  He  was  a  very  still  man,  much  as  a  mass-priest 
might  be.     More  they  did  not  know,  or  did  not  choose  to  know. 

Whereon,  Old  Cary  and  Sir  Richard  sent  Will  on  a  second  trip 
with  the  parish  constable  of  Hartland  (in  which  huge  parish,  for 
its  sins,  is  situate  the  Isle  of  Lundy,  ten  miles  out  at  sea)  ;  who 
returned  with  the  body  of  the  hapless  John  Braund,  farmer,  fisher- 
man, smuggler,  etc.  ;  which  worthy,  after  much  fruitless  exami- 
nation (wherein  examinate  was  afflicted  with  extreme  deafness  and 
loss  of  memory),  departed  to  Exeter  jail,  on  a  charge  of  "  harbor- 
ing priests,  Jesuits,  gypsies,  and  other  suspect  and  traitorous  per- 
sons.' 

Poor  John  Braund,  whose  motive  for  entertaining  the  said  ugly 
customers  had  probably  been  not  treason,  but  a  wife,  seven  chil- 
dren, and  arrears  of  rent,  did  not  thrive  under  the  change  from  the 
pure  air  of  Lundy  to  the  pestiferous  one  of  Exeter  jail,  made  in- 
famous, but  two  years  after  (if  I  recollect  right),  by  a  "black 
assizes,"  nearly  as  fatal  as  that  more  notorious  one  at  Oxford  ;  for 
in  it,  "  whether  by  the  stench  of  the  prisoners,  or  by  a  stream  of 
foul  air,"  judge,  jury,  counsel,  and  bystanders,  numbering  among 
them  many  members  of  the  best  families  in  Devon,  sickened  in 
court,  and  died  miserably  within  a  few  days. 

John  Braund,  then,  took  the  jail-fever  in  a  week,  and  died  rav- 
ing in  that  noisome  den  :  his  secret,  if  he  had  one,  perished  with 
him,  and  nothing  but  vague  suspicion  was  left  as  to  Rose  Salterne's 
fate.  That  she  had  gone  off  with  the  Spaniard,  few  doubted  ;  but 
whither,  and  in  what  character  ?     On  that  last  subject,  be  surc^ 


WESTWARD  not  2 5 1 

no  mercy  was  shown  to  her  by  many  a  Bideford  dame,  who  had 
hated  the  poor  girl  simply  for  her  beauty  ;  and  by  many  a  country 
lady,  who  had  "  always  expected  that  the  girl  would  be  brought 
to  ruin  by  the  absurd  notice,  beyond  what  her  station  had  a  right 
to,  which  was  taken  of  her  :  "  while  every  young  maiden  aspired 
to  fill  the  throne  which  Rose  had  abdicated.  So  that,  on  the 
whole,  Bideford  considered  itself  as  going  on  as  well  without  poor 
Rose  as  it  had  done  with  her,  or  even  better.  And  though  she 
iingered  in  some  hearts  still  as  a  fair  dream,  the  business  and  the 
bustle  of  each  day  soon  swept  that  dream  away,  and  her  place 
knew  her  no  more. 

And  Will  Gary  ? 

He  was  tor  a  while  like  a  man  distracted.  He  heaped  himself 
with  all  manner  of  superfluous  reproaches,  for  having  (as  he  said) 
first  brought  the  Rose  into  disgrace,  and  then  driven  her  into  the 
arms  of  the  Spaniard  ;  while  St.  Leger,  who  was  a  sensible  man 
enough  tried  in  vain  to  persuade  him  that  the  fault  was  not  his  af 
all  :  that  the  two  must  have  been  attached  to  each  other  long  be- 
fore the  quarrel ;  that  it  must  have  ende/d  so,  sooner  or  later ; 
that  old  Salterne's  harshness,  rather  than  Gary's  wrath,  had  hast- 
ened the  catastrophe  ;  and  finally,  that  the  Rose  and  her  fortunes 
were,  now  that  she  had  eloped  with  a  Spaniard,  not  worth  trou- 
bling their  heads  about.  Poor  Will  would  not  be  so  comforted. 
He  wrote  off  to  Frank  at  Whitehall,  telling  him  the  whole  truth, 
calling  himself  all  fools  and  villains,  and  entreating  Frank's  for- 
giveness ;  to  which  he  received  an  answer,  in  which  Frank  said 
that  Will  had  no  reason  to  accuse  himself  ;  that  these  strange  at- 
tachments were  due  to  a  synastria,  or  sympathy  of  the  stars,  which 
ruled  the  destinies  of  each  person,  to  fight  against  which  was  to 
fight  against  the  heavens  themselves  ;  that  he,  as  a  brother  of  the 
Rose,  was  bound  to  believe,  nay,  to  assert  at  the  sword's  point  if 
need  were,  that  the  incomparable  Rose  of  Torridge  could  make 
none  but  a  worthy  and  virtuous  choice  ;  and  that  to  the  man 
whom  she  had  honored  by  her  affection  was  due  on  their  part, 
Spaniard  and  Papist  though  he  might  be,  all  friendship,  worship, 
and  loyal  faith  for  evermore. 

And  honest  Will  took  it  all  for  gospel,  little  dreaming  what 
agony  of  despair,  what  fearful  suspicions,  what  bitter  prayers, 
this  letter  had  cost  to  the  gentle  heart  of  Francis  Leigh. 

He  showed  the  letter  triumphantly  to  St.  Leger  :  and  he  was 
quite  wise  enough  to  gainsay  no  word  of  it,  at  least  aloud  ;  but 
quite  wise  enough,  also,  to  believe  in  secret  that  Frank  looked  on 
the  matter  in  quite  a  different  light  :  however,  he  contented  him- 
self with  saying — 

"  The  man  is  an  angel  as  his  mother  is  !  "  and  there  the  matter 
dropped  for  a  few  days,  till  one  came  forward  who  had  no  mind 
to  let  it  drop,  and  that  was  Jack  Brimblecombe,  now  curate  of 
Hartland   town,  and  "  passing  rich  on  forty  pounds  a  year." 

'•  I  hope  no  offense,  Mr.  William  ;  but  when  are  you  and  th^ 
rest  going  after — after  her  ?  "     The  name  stuck  in  his  throat. 


0^2  WESTIVARD  HO! 

Cary  was  taken  aback. 

"  What's  that  to  thee,  Cataline  the  blood-drinker  ?  "  asked  he 
trying-  to  laugh  it  off. 

"  What  ?  Don't  laugh  at  me,  sir,  for  it's  no  laughing  matter. 
I  drank  that  night  nought  worse,  I  expect,  than  red  wine.  Whc  t- 
ever  it  was,  we  swore  our  oaths,  Mr.  Cary  ;  and  oaths  are  oaths, 
say  I." 

"  Ot  course.  Jack,  of  course  ;  but  to  go  to  look  for  her— and 
when  we've  found  her,  cut  her  lover's  throat.  Absurd,  Jack  even 
if  she  were  worth  looking  for,  or  his  throat  worth  cuttmg.  Tut, 
tut,  tut " 

But  Jack  looked  steadfastly  in  his   face,  and  alter  some   silence 

"  How  far  is  it  to  the  Caraccas,  then,  sir  ?  " 

"  What  is  that  to  thee,  man  .?  " 

"  Why,  he  was  made  governor  thereof,  I  hear  ;  so  that  would 
be  the  place  to  find  her  'i  " 

"  You  don't  mean  to  go  thither  to  seek  her  ?"  shouted  Cary, 
forcing  a  laugh. 

"  That  depends  on  whether  I  can  go,  sir  ;  but  if  I  can  scrape 
the  money  together,  or  get  a  berth  oa  board  some  ship,  why, 
God's  will  must  be  done." 

Will  looked  at  him,  to  see  if  he  had  been  drinking,  or  gone 
mad  ;  but  the  little  pig's  eyes  were  both  sane  and  sober. 

Will  knew  no  answer.  To  laugh  at  the  poor  fellow  was  easy 
enough  ;  to  deny  that  he  was  right,  that  he  was  a  hero  and 
cavalier,  outdoing  romance  itself  in  faithfulness,  not  so  easy  ;  and 
Cary,  in  the  first  impulse,  wished  him  at  the  bottom  of  the  bay 
for  shaming  him.  Of  course,  his  own  plan  ot  letting  ill  alone  was 
the  rational,  prudent,  irreproachable  plan,  and  just  what  any 
gentleman  in  his  senses  would  have  done  ;  but  here  was  a  vulgar, 
fat  curate,  out  of  his  senses,  determined  not  to  let  ill  alone,  but  to 
do  something,  as  Cary  felt  in  his  heart,  of  a  far  diviner  stamp. 

"  Well,"  said  Jack,  in  his  stupid  steadfast  way,  "  it's  a  very  baa 
look-out  ;  but  mother's  pretty  well  oft,  if  lather  dies,  and  the 
maidens  are  stout  wenches  enough,  and  will  make  tidy  servants, 
please  the  Lord.  And  you'll  see  that  they  come  to  no  harm,  Mr. 
William,  for  old  acquaintance'  sake,  if  1  never  come  back.'' 

Cary  was  silent  with  amazement. 

"  And  Mr.  William,  you  know  me  for  an  honest  man,  I  hope. 
Will  you  lend  me  a  five  pound,  and  take  my  books  in  pawn  for 
them,  just  to  help  me  out." 

"  Are  you  mad,  or  in  a  dream  ?     You  will  never  find   her  !** 

"  That's  no  reason  why  1  shouldn't  do  my  duty  in  looking  fot 
her,  Mr.  William. 

••  But,  my  good  fellow,  even  if  you  get  to  the  Indies,  you  will 
be  clapt  into  the  Inquisition,  and'  burnt  alive,  as  sure  as  your 
name  is  Jack." 

"  I  know  that,"  said  he  in  a  doleful  tone  ;  "  and  a  sore  struggle 
of  the  flesh  I  have  had  about  it ;  for  I  am  a  great  coward,  Mr. 
William,  a  dirty  coward,  and  always  was  as  you  know  :  but  may 


WESTWARD  HO!  253 

be  the  Lord  will  take  care  of  me,  as  He  does  of  little  children  and 
drunken  men  ;  and  if  not,  Mr.  Will,  I'd  sooner  burn,  and  have  it 
over,  than  go  on  this  way  any  longer,  I  would  !  "  and  Jack  burst 
out  blubbering. 

"  What  way,  my  dear  old  lad  ?  "  said  Will,  softened  as  he  well 
might  be. 

"Why,    not not   to    know   whether — whether — whether   she  s 

married  to  him  or  not— her  that  I  looked  up  to  as  an  angel  of  God, 
as  pure  as  the  light  of  day  ;  and  knew  she  was  too  good  for  a 
poor  pot-head  like  me  ;  and  prayed  for  her  every  night,  God 
knows,  that  she  might  marry  a  king,  if  there  was  one  fit  for  her— 
and  I  not  to  know  whether  she's  living  in  sin  or  not,  Mr.  William. 
—It's  more  than  I  can  bear,  and  there's  an  end  of  it.  And  if  she 
is  married  to  him  they  keep  no  faith  with  heretics  ;  they  can  dis- 
solve the  marriage,  or  make  away  with  her  into  the  Inquisition  ; 
burn  her,  Mr.  Gary,  as  soon  as  burn  me,  the  devils  incarnate  !  " 

Gary  shuddered  ;  the  fact,  true  and  palpable  as  it  was,  had 
never  struck  him  before. 

"  Yes  !  or  make  her  deny  her  God  by  torments,  if  she  hasn  t 

done  it  already  for  love  to  that 1  know  how  love  will  make  a 

body  sell  his  soul,  for  I've  beeii  in  love.  Don't  you  laugh  at  me, 
Mr.  Will,  or  I  shall  go  mad  !  " 

"  God  knows,  I  was  never  less  inclined  to  laugh  at  you  in  my 
Hfe,  my  brave  old  Jack." 

"  Is  it  so,  then  ?  Bless  you  for  that  word  !  "  and  Jack  held  out 
his  hand.  "  But  what  will  become  of  my  soul,  after  my  oath,  if  I 
don't  seek  her  out,  just  to  speak  to  her,  to  warn  her,  for  God's 
sake,  even  if  it  did  no  good  ;  just  to  set  before  her  the  Lord's  curse 
on  idolatry  and  Antichrist,  and  those  who  deny  Him  for  the  sake 
of  any  creature,  though  I  can't  think  He  would  be  hard  on  her, — 
for  who  could  ?  But  I  must  speak  all  the  same.  The  Lord  has 
laid  the  burden  on  me,  and  done  it  must  be.     God  help  me  !  " 

"  Jack,"  said  Gary,  "  if  this  is  your  duty,  it  is  others'." 

"  No,  sir,  I  don't  say  that  ;  you're  a  layman,  but  I  am  a  deacon, 
and  the  chaplain  of  you  all,  and  sworn  to  seek  out  Christ's  sheep 
scattered  up  and  down  this  naughty  world,  and  that  innocent 
Iamb  first  of  all." 

"  You  have  sheep  at  Hartland,  Jack,  already." 

"There's  plenty  better  than  I  will  tend  them,  when  I  am  gone  ; 
but  none  that  v/iU  tend  her,  because  none  love  her  like  me,  and 
^.hey  won't  venture.  Who  will  ?  It  can't  be  expected,  and  no 
shame  to  them  ?  " 

"  I  wonder  what  Amy  as  Leigh  would  say  to  all  this,  if  he  were 
at  home  ? "  ,         ,  1 

"Say?  He'd  do.  He  isn't  one  for  talking.  He  d  go  through 
fire  and  water  for  her,  you  trust  him,  Will  Gary ;  and  call  me  an 
ass  if  he  won't." 

"  Will  you  wait,  then,  till  he  comes  back,  and  ask  him  1 " 

"  He  may  not  be  back  for  a  year  and  more." 

"  Hear  reason,  Jack.     If  you  will  wait  like  a  rational  and  patient 


254 


WESTWARD  HO! 


man,  instead  of  rushing  blindfold  on  your  ruin,  something  may 
be  done." 

"  You  think  so  !  " 

"  I  cannot  promise  ;  but " 

"  But  promise  me  one  thing.  Do  you  tell  Mr.  Frank  what  I 
say — or  rather,  I'll  warrant,  if  I  knew  the  truth,  he  has  said  the 
very  same  thing  himself  already." 

"  You  are  out  there,  old  man  ;  for  here  is  his  own  hand-writ- 
ing. 

Jack  read  the  letter  and  sighed  bitterly. 

"Well,  I  did  take  him  for  another  guess  sort  of  fine  gentleman. 
Still,  if  my  duty  isn't  his,  it's  mine  all  the  same.  I  judge  no  man  ; 
but  I  go,  Mr.  Gary." 

"|But  go  you  shall  not  till  Amyas  returns.  As  I  live,  I  will  tell 
your  father.  Jack,  unless  you  promise  ;  and  you  dare  not  disobey 
him." 

"  I  don't  know  even  that,  for  conscience'  sake,"  said  Jack 
doubtfully. 

"  At  least,  you  stay  and  dine  here,  old  fellow,  and  we  will  settle 
whether  you  are  to  break  the  fifth  commandment  or  not,  over 
good  brewed  sack." 

Now  a  good  dinner  was  (as  we  know)  what  Jack  loved,  and 
loved  too  oft  in  vain  ;  so  he  submitted  for  the  nonce,  and  Gary 
thought,  ere  he  went,  that  he  had  talked  him  pretty  well  round. 
At  least  he  went  home,  and  was  seen  no  more  for  a  week. 

But  at  the  end  of  that  time  he  returned,  and  said  with  a  joyful 
\oice — 

"  I  have  settled  all,  Mr.  Will.  The  parson  of  Welcombe  will 
serve  my  church  for  two  Sundays,  and  I  am  away  for  London 
town,  to  speak  to  Mr.  Frank." 

"  To  London  1     How  wilt  get  there  .''  " 

"On  Shanks  his  mare,"  said  Jack,  pointing  to  his  bandy  legs. 
"  But  I  expect  I  can  get  a  lift  on  board  of  a  coaster  so  far  as  Bristol, 
and  it's  no  way  on  to  signify,  I  hear." 

Gary  tried  in  vain  to  dissuade  him  ;  and  then  forced  on  him  a 
small  loan,  with  which  away  went  Jack,  and  Gary  heard  no  more 
of  him  for  three  weeks. 

At  last  he  walked  into  Glovelly  Gourt  again  just  before  supper- 
time,  thin  and  leg-weary,  and  sat  himself  down  among  the  serving- 
men  till  Will  appeared. 

Will  took  him  up  above  the  salt,  and  made  much  of  him  (v,'hich 
indeed  the  honest  fellow  much  needed),  and  after  supper  asked 
him  in  private  how  he  had  sped. 

"  I  have  learnt  a  lesson,  Mr.  William.  I've  learnt  that  there  is 
one  on  earth  loves  her  better  than  I,  if  she  had  but  had  the  wit  to 
have  taken  him." 

*•  But  what  says  he  of  going  to  seek  her  ?  " 

"  He  says  what  I  say,  Go  !  and  he  says  what  you  say,  Wait." 

"  Go  ?     Impossible  !     How  can  that  agree  with  his  letter  ?  " 

**  That's  no  concern  of  mine.     Of  course,  bein-    nearer  heaves 


WESTWARD  HOI  255 

than  I  am,  he  sees  clearer  what  he  should  say  and  do  than  I  can 
see  for  him.  Oh,  Mr.  Will,  that's  not  a  man,  he's  an  angel  of 
God  ;  but  he's  dying,  Mr.  Will." 

"  Dying  .'*  " 

"  Yes,  faith,  of  love  for  her.  I  can  see  it  in  his  eyes,  and  hear 
it  in  his  voice  ;  but  I  am  of  tougher  hide,  and  stiffer  clay,  and  so 
you  see  I  can't  die  even  if  I  tried.  But  I'll  obey  my  betters,  and 
wait." 

And  so  Jack  went  home  to  his  parish  that  very  evening,  U'eary 
as  he  was,  in  spite  of  all  entreaties  to  pass  the  night  at  Clovelly. 
But  he  had  left  behind  him  thoughts  in  Gary's  mind,  which  gave 
their  owner  no  rest  by  day  or  night,  till  the  touch  of  a  seeming 
accident  made  them  all  start  suddenly  into  shape,  as  a  touch  of 
the  freezing  water  covers  it  in  an  instant  with  crystals  of  ice. 

He  was  lounging  (so  he  told  Amyas)  one  murky  day  on  Bide- 
ford  quay,  when  up  came  Mr.  Salterne.  Gary  had  shunned  him 
of  late,  partly  from  delicacy,  partly  from  dislike  of  his  supposed 
hard-heartedness.  But  this  time  they  happened  to  meet  full  ;  and 
Gary  could  not  pass  without  speaking  to  him. 

"Well,  Mr.  Salterne,  and  how  goes  on  the  shipping  trade  ?  " 

"Well  enough,  sir,  if  some  of  you  young  gentlemen  would  but 
follow  Mr.  Leigh's  example,  and  go  forth  to  find  us  stay-at-homes 
new  markets  for  our  ware." 

"  What  ?  you  want  to  be  rid  of  us,  eh  ?  " 

"I  don't  know  why  I  should,  sir.  We  shan't  cross  each  other 
now,  sir,  whatever  might  have  been  once.  But  if  I  were  you,  I 
should  be  in  the  Indies  about  now,  if  I  were  not  fighting  the 
queen's  battles  nearer  home." 

"  In  the  Indies  ?  I  should  make  but  a  poor  hand  of  Drake's 
trade."  And  so  the  conversation  dropped  ;  but  Gary  did  not  for- 
get the  hint. 

"So,  lad,  to  make  an  end  of  a  long  story,"  said  he  to  Amyas  ; 
"if  you  are  minded  to  take  the  old  man's  offer,  so  am  I:  and 
Westward-ho  with  you,  come  foul  come  fair." 

"  It  will  be  but  a  v/ild-goose  chase,  Will." 

"  If  she  is  with  him,  we  shall  find  her  at  La  Guayra.  If  she  is 
not,  and  the  villain  has  cast  her  off  down  the  wind,  that  will  be 
only  an  additional  reason  for  making  an  example  of  him." 

"  And  if  neither  of  them  are  there.  Will,  the  Plate-fleets  will  be  ; 
so  it  will  be  our  own  shame  if  we  come  home  empty-handed. 
But  will  your  father  let  you  run  such  a  risk  ?  " 

"  My  father  !  "  said  Gary,  laughing.  "  He  has  just  now  so  good 
hope  of  a  long  string  of  little  Garys  to  fill  my  place,  that  he  will  be 
in  no  lack  of  an  heir,  come  what  will." 

"  Little  Garys  ?  " 

"  I  tell  you  truth.  I  think  he  must  have  had  a  sly  sup  of  that 
fountain  of  perpetual  youth,  which  our  friend  Don  Guzman's 
grandfather  went  to  seek  in  Florida  ;  for  some  twelvemonth  since, 
he  must  needs  marry  a  tenant's  buxom  daughter ;  and  Mistress 
Abishag  Jewell  has  brought  him  one  fat  baby  already.     So  I  shall 


256  WESTWARD  HO! 

g-o,  back  to  Ireland,  or  with  you  :  but  somewhere.  I  can't  abide 
the  thing's  squalling,  any  more  than  I  can  seeing  Mistress  Abishag 
sitting  in  my  poor  dear 'mother's  place,  and  informing  me  every 
other  day  that  she  is  come  of  an  illustrious  house,  because  she  is 
(or  is  not)  third  cousin  seven  times  removed  to  my  father's  old 
friend,  Bishop  Jewell  of  glorious  memory,  I  had  three-parts  of  a 
quarrel  with  the  dear  old  man  the  other  day  ;  for  after  one  of  her 
peacock-bouts,  I  couldn't  for  the  life  of  me  help  saying,  that  as  the 
Bishop  had  written  an  Apology  for  the  people  of  England,  my 
father  had  better  conjure  up  his  ghost  to  write  an  apology  for  him, 
and  head  it,  '  Why  green  heads  should  grow  on  gray  shoulders.'  " 

"  You  impudent  villain  !     And  what  did  he  say  .'*  " 

"  Laughed  till  he  cried  again,  and  told  me  if  I  did  not  like  it  I 
might  leave  it;  w^hich  is  just  what  I  intend  to  do.  Only  mind,  if 
we  go,  we  must  needs  take  Jack  Brimblecombe  with  us,  or  he  will 
surely  heave  himself  over  Harty  Point,  and  his  ghost  will  haunt 
us  to  our  dying  day." 

"  Jack  shall  go.     None  deserves  it  better." 

After  which  there  was  a  long  consultation  on  practical  matters, 
and  it  was  concluded  that  Amyas  should  go  up  to  London  and 
sound  Frank  and  his  mother  before  any  further  steps  were  taken. 
The  other  brethren  of  the  Rose  were  scattered  far  and  wide,  each 
at  his  post,  and  St.  Leger  had  returned  to  his  uncle,  so  that  it 
would  be  unfair  to  them,  as  well  as  a  considerable  delay,  to  de- 
mand of  them  any  fulfilment  of  their  vow.  And,  as  Amyas  sagely 
remarked,  "Too  many  cooks  spoil  the  broth,  and  half-a-dozen 
gentlemen  aboard  one  ship  are  as  bad  as  two  kings  of  Brentford." 

With  which  maxim  he  departed  next  morning  for  London, 
leaving  Yeo  with  Gary 


CHAPTER  XVL 

THE  MOST  CHIVALROUS  ADVENTURE  OF  THE  GOOD  SHIP  ROSE. 

*  He  is  brass  within,  and  steel  without, 
With  beams  on  his  topcastle  strong  ; 
And  eighteen  pieces  of  ordnance 
He  carries  on  either  side  along." 

Str  A  ndrcTV  Barton. 

Let  us  take  boat,  as  Amyas  did,  at  Whitehall-stairs,  and  slip 
down  ahead  of  him  under  old  London  Bridge,  and  so  to  Deptford 
Creek,  where  remains,  as  it  were  embalmed,  the  famous  ship 
Pelican,  in  which  Drake  had  sailed  round  the  word.  There  she 
stands,  drawn  up  high  and  dry  upon  the  sedgy  bank  ot  Thames, 
like  an  old  warrior  resting  after  his  toil.  Nailed  upon  her  main- 
mast are  epigrams  and  verses  in  honor  of  her  and  of  her  captain. 


WESTWARD  HO 


257 


three  of  which,  by  the  Winchester  scholar,  Camden  gives  in  his 
History  ;  and  Elizabeth's  self  consecrated  her  solemnly,  and 
having  banqueted  on  board,  there  and  then  honored  Drake  with 
the  dignity  of  knighthood.  "  At  which  time  a  bridge  of  planks, 
by  which  they  came  on  board,  broke  under  the  press  of  people, 
and  fell  down  with  a  hundred  men  upon  it,  who,  notwithstanding, 
had  none  of  them  any  harm.  So  as  that  ship  may  seem  to  have 
been  built  under  a  lucky  planet." 

There  she  has  remained  since  as  a  show,  and  moreover  as  a 
sort  of  dining-hall  for  jovial  parties  from  the  City  ;  one  of  which 
would  seem  to  be  on  board  this  afternoon,  to  judge  from  the  flags 
which  bedizen  the  masts,  the  sounds  of  revelry  and  savory  steams 
which  issue  from  those  windows  which  once  were  port-holes,  and 
the  rushing  to  and  fro  along  the  river  brink,  and  across  that 
lucky  bridge,  of  white-aproned  waiters  from  the  neighboring 
Pelican  Inn.  A  great  feast  is  evidently  toward,  for  with  those 
white-aproned  waiters  are  gay  serving  men,  wearing  on  their 
shoulders  the  City-badge.  The  Lord  Mayor  is  giving  a  dinner  to 
certain  gentlemen  of  the  Leicester  house  party,  w^ho  are  interested 
in  foreign  discoveries  ;  and  what  place  so  fit  for  such  a  feast  as 
the  Pelican  itself  ? 

Look  at  the  men  all  round  ;  a  nobler  company  you  will  seldom 
see.  Especially  too,  if  you  be  Americans,  look  at  their  faces,  and 
reverence  them'  ;  for  to  them  and  to  their  wisdom  you  owe  the  ex- 
istence of  your  mighty  fatherland. 

At  the  head  of  the  table  sits  the  Lord  Mayor  ;  whom  all  readers 
will  recognize  at  once,  for  he  is  none  other  than  that  famous  Sir 
Edward  Osborne,  clothworker,  and  ancestor  of  the  Dukes  of  Leeds, 
whose  romance  now-a-days  is  in  every  one's  hands.  He  is  aged, 
but  not  changed,  since  he  leaped  from  the  window  upon  London 
Bridge  into  the  roaring  tide  below,  to  rescue  the  infant  who  is 
now  his  wife.  The  chivalry  and  promptitude  of  the  'prentice  boy 
have  grown  and  hardened  into  the  thoughtful  daring  of  the  wealthy 
merchant  adventurer.  There  he  sits,  a  right  kingly  man,  with 
my  lord  Earl  of  Cumberland  on  his  right  hand,  and  Walter  Raleigh 
on  his  left  ;  the  three  talk  together  in  a  low  voice  on  the  chance 
of  there  being  vast  and  rich  countries  still  undiscovered  between 
Florida  and  the  River  of  Canada.  Raleigh's  half-scientific  dec- 
lamation and  his  often  quotations  of  Doctor  Dee  the  conjuror, 
have  less  effect  on  Osborne  than  on  Cumberland  (who  tried  many 
an  adventure  to  foreign  parts,  and  failed  in  all  of  them  ;  apparently 
for  the  simple  reason  that,  instead  of  going  himself,  he  sent  other 
people),  and  Raleigh  is  fain  to  call  to  his  help  the  quiet  student 
who  sits  on  his  left  hand,  Richard  Hakluyt,  of  Oxford.  But  he  is 
deep  in  talk  with  a  reverend  elder,  whose  long  white  beard  flov/s 
almost  to  his  waist,  and  whose  face  is  furrowed  by  a  thou- 
sand storms  ;  Anthony  Jenkinson  by  name,  the  great  Asiatic 
traveller,  who  is  discoursing  to  the  Christchurch  virtuoso  of  rein- 
deer sledges  and  Siberian  steppes,  and  of  the  fossil  ivory,  plain 
proof  of  Noah's  flood,  which  the  Tungoos  dig  from  the  ice-cliffs 


258  WESTWARD  HO  i 

of  the  Arctic  sea.  Next  to  him  is  Christopher  Carlile,  Walsing- 
ham's  son-in-law  (as  Sidney  also  is  now),  a  valiant  captain,  after 
wards  general  of  the  soldiery  in  Drake's  triumphant  West  Indian 
raid  of  1585,  with  whom  a  certain  Bishop  of  Carthagena  will  here- 
after drink  good  wine.  He  is  now  busy  talking  with  Aldennau 
Hart  the  grocer,  Sheriff  Spencer  the  clothworker,  and  Charles 
Leigh  (Amyas's  merchant  cousin),  and  with  Aldworth,  the  mayor 
of  Bristol,  and  William  Salterne,  alderman  thereof,  and  cousin  ol 
our  friend  at  Bideford.  For  Carlile,  and  Secretary  Walsingham 
also,  have  been  helping  them  heart  and  soul  for  the  last  two 
years  to  collect  money  for  Humphrey  and  Adrian  Gilbert's  great 
adventures  to  the  North-West,  on  one  of  which  Carlile  was  indeed 
to  have  sailed  himself,  but  did  not  go  after  all  ;  J  never  could  dis- 
cover for  what  reason. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  table  is  a  group,  scarcely  less  inter- 
esting. Martin  Frobisher  and  William  Davis,  the  pioneers  of 
the  North-West  passage,  are  talking  with  Alderman  Sanderson, 
the  great  geographer  and  "  setter  forth  of  globes  ; "  with  Mr. 
Towerson,  Sir  Gilbert  Peckham,  our  old  acquaintance  Captain 
John  Winter,  and  last,  but  not  least,  with  Philip  Sidney  himself, 
who,  with  his  accustomed  courtesy,  has  given  up  his  rightful  place 
toward  the  head  of  the  table  that  he  miay  have  a  knot  of  virtuosi 
all  to  himself;  and  has  brought  with  him,  of  course,  his  two 
especial  intimates,  Mr.  Edward  Dyer  and  Mr.  Francis  Leigh. 
They  too  are  talking  of  the  North-West  passage  ;  and  Sidney  is 
lamenting  that  he  is  tied  to  diplomacy  and  courts,  and  expressing 
his  en\'y  of  old  Martin  Frobisher  in  all  sorts  of  pretty  compliments  ; 
to  which  the  other  replies  that, 

"  It's  all  very  fine  to  talk  of  here,  a  sailing  on  dry  land  with  a 
good  glass  of  wine  before  you  ;  but  you'd  find  it  another  guess 
sort  of  business,  knocking  about  among  the  icebergs  with  your 
beard  frozen  fast  to  your  ruff.  Sir  Philip,  specially  if  you  were  a 
bit  squeamish  about  the  stomach." 

"That  were  a  slight  matter  to  endure,  my  dear  sir,  if  by  it  I 
could  win  the  honor  which  her  Majesty  bestowed  on  you,  when 
her  own  ivory  hand  waved  a  farewell  'kerchief  to  your  ship  from 
the  windows  of  Greenwich  Palace." 

"  Well,  sir,  folks  say  you  have  no  reason  to  complain  of  lack  of 
favors,  as  you  have  no  reason  to  deserve  lack  ;  and  if  you  can  get 
thcTn  by  staying  ashore,  don't  you  go  to  sea  to  look  for  more,  say 
r.     Eh,  Master  Towerson  ?  "  . 

Fowerson's  gray  beard,  whicli  has  stood  many  a  foreign  voyage, 
both  fair  and  foul,  wags  grim  assent.  But  at  this  moment  a 
waiter  enters,  and — 

"  Please  my  Lord  Mayor's  Worship,  there  is  a  tall  gentleman 
outside,  would  speak  with  the  Right  Honorable  Sir  Waltcl 
Raleigh." 

"  Show  him  in,  man.     Sir  Walter's  friends  are  ours." 
.  Aiinyas  enters  and  stands  hesitating  in  the  doorway. 

*'  Captain  Leigh  !  "  cry  half-a-dozen  voices. 


WESTWARD  HO! 


259 


•*  Why  did  you  not  walk  in,  sir  ?  "  says  Osborne.  "You  should 
know  your  way  well  enough  between  these  decks." 

"  Well  enough,  my  lords  and  gentlemen.  But  Sir  Walter — you 
will  excuse  me," — and  he  gave  Raleigh  a  look  which  was  enough 
for  his  quick  wit.  Turning  pale  as  death,  he  rose,  and  followed 
Amyas  into  a  adjoining  cabin.  They  were  five  minutes  together  ; 
and  then  Amyas  came  out  alone. 

In  a  few  words  he  told  the  company  the  sad  story  which  we 
already  know.  Ere  it  was  ended,  noble  tears  were  glistening  on 
some  of  those  stern  faces. 

"The  old  Egyptians,"  said  Sir  Edward  Osborne,  "  when  they 
banqueted,  set  a  corpse  among  their  guests,  for  a  memorial  of 
human  vanity.  Have  we  forgotten  God  and  our  own  weakness 
in  this  our  feast,  that  He  Himself  has  sent  us  thus  a  message  from 
the  dead  ?  " 

"  Nay,  my  Lord  Mayor,"  said  Sidney,  "  not  from  the  dead,  but 
from  the  realm  of  everlasting  life." 

"  Amen  !  "  answered  Osborne.  "  But,  gentlemen,  our  feast  is 
at  an  end.  There  are  those  here  who  would  drink  on  merrily,  as 
brave  men  should,  in  spite  of  the  private  losses  of  which  they 
have  just  had  news  ;  but  none  here  who  can  drink  with  the  loss 
of  so  great  a  man  still  ringing  in  his  ears." 

It  was  true.  Though  many  of  the  guests  had  suffered  severely 
by  the  failure  of  the  expedition,  they  had  utterly  forgotten  that 
fact  in  the  awful  news  of  Sir  Humphrey's  death  ;  and  the  feast 
broke  up  sadly  and  hurriedly,  while  each  man  asked  his  neigh- 
bor, "  What  will  the  queen  say  ?  " 

Raleigh  re-entered  in  a  few  minutes,  but  was  silent,  and  pressing 
many  an  honest  hand  as  he  passed,  went  out  to  call  a  wherry, 
beckoning  Amyas  to  follow  him.  Sidney,  Cumberland,  and  Frank 
went  with  them  in  another  boat,  leaving  the  two  to  talk  over  the 
sad  details. 

They  disembarked  at  Whitehall-stairs  ;  Raleigh,  Sidney,  and 
Cumberland  vvent  to  the  palace  ;  and  the  two  brothers  to  their 
mother's  lodgings. 

Amyas  had  prepared  his  speech  to  Frank  about  Rose  Salterne, 
but  now  that  it  was  come  to  the  point,  he  had  not  courage  to  be- 
gin, and  longed  that  Frank  would  open  the  matter.  Frank,  too, 
shrank  from  what  he  knew  must  come,  and  all  the  more  because 
he  was  ignorant  that  Amyas  had  been  to  Bideford,  or  knew  aught 
of  the  Rose's  disappearance. 

So  they  went  upstairs  ;  and  it  was  a  relief  to  both  of  them  to 
find  that  their  mother  was  at  the  Abbey  ;  for  it  was  for  her  sake 
that  both  dreaded  what  was  coming.  So  they  went  and  stood  in 
the  bay-window  which  looked  out  upon  the  river,  and  talked  of 
things  indifferent,  and  looked  earnestly  at  each  other's  faces  by 
the  fading  light,  for  it  was  now  three  years  since  they  had  met. 

Years  and  events  had  deepened  the  contrast  between  the  two 
brothers  ;  and  Frank  smiled  with  affectionate  pride  as  he  looked 
up  in  Amyas's  face,  and  saw  that  he  was  no  lon^'cr  me-rely  the  rol- 


26o  JVESTIVARD  HO  ! 

licking  handy  sailor-lad,  but  the  self-confident  and  stately  warrior, 
showing  in  every  look  and  gesture 

"  The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will, 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength  and  skill," 

worthy  of  one  whose  education  had  been  begun  by  such  men  as 
Drake  and  Grenvile,  and  finished  by  such  as  Raleigh  and  Gilbert. 
His  long  locks  were  now  cropped  close  to  the  head  ;  but  as  a  set- 
off, the  lips  and  chin  were  covered  with  rich  golden  beard  ;  his 
face  was  browned  by  a  thousand  suns  and  storms  ;  a  long  scar, 
the  trophy  of  some  Irish  fight,  crossed  his  right  temple  ;  his  huge 
figure  had  gained  breadth  in  proportion  to  its  height ;  and  his 
hand,  as  it  lay  upon  the  window-sill,  was  hard  and  massive  as  a 
smith's.  Frank  laid  his  own  upon  it,  and  sighed  ;  and  Amyas 
looked  down,  and  started  at  the  contrast  between  the  two — so 
slender,  bloodless,  all  but  transparent,  were  the  delicate  fingers  of 
the  courtier.  Amyas  looked  anxiously  into  his  brother's  face.  It 
was  changed,  indeed,  since  they  last  met.  The  brilliant  red  was 
still  on  either  cheek,  but  the  white  had  become  dull  and  opaque  ; 
the  lips  were  pale,  the  features  sharpened  ;  the  eyes  glittered  with 
unnatural  fire  ;  and  when  Frank  told  Amyas  that  he  looked  aged, 
Amyas  could  not  help  thinking  that  the  remark  was  far  more  true 
of  the  speaker  himself. 

Trying  to  shut  his  eyes  to  the  palpable  truth,  he  went  on  with 
his  chat,  asking  the  names  of  one  building  after  another. 

"  And  so  this  is  old  Father  Thames,  with  his  bank  of  palaces  ?  " 

"  Yes.  His  banks  are  stately  enough  ;  yet,  you  see,  he  cannot 
stay  to  look  at  them.  He  hurries  down  to  the  sea  ;  and  the  sea 
into  the  ocean  ;  and  the  ocean  Westward-ho,  forever.  All  things 
move  Westward-ho.  Perhaps  we  may  move  that  way  ourselves 
some  day,  Amyas." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that  strange  talk  } " 

"  Only  that  the  ocean  follows  the  primum  mobile  of  the  heavens, 
and  flows  forever  from  East  to  West.  Is  there  anything  so  strange 
in  my  thinking  of  that,  when  I  am  just  come  from  a  party  where 
we  have  been  drinking  success  to  Westward-ho  ?  " 

•'  And  much  good  has  come  of  it  !  I  have  lost  the  best  friend 
and  the  noblest  captain  upon  earth,  not  to  mention  all  my  little 
earnings,  in  that  same  confounded  gulf  of  Westward-ho." 

"  Yes,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert's  star  has  set  in  the  W>st — why 
not  ?  Sun,  moon,  and  planets  sink  into  the  West  :  why  not 
the  meteors  of  this  lower  world  ?  why  not  a  will-o'-the-wisp  like 
me,  Amyas  t  " 

•'  God  forbid,  Frank  !  " 

"Why,  then  ?  Is  not  the  West  the  land  of  peace,  and  the  land 
of  dreams  ?  Do  not  our  hearts  tell  us  so  each  time  we  look  upon 
the  setting  sun,  and  long  to  float  away  with  him  upon  the  golden- 
cushioned  clouds  ?  They  bury  men  with  their  faces  to  the  East, 
I  should  rather  have  mine  turned  to  the  West,  Amyas,  when  I  die  ; 
for  I  cannot  but  think   it  some  divine   instinct  which   made  the 


WESTIVARD  HO!  26 1 

ancient  poets  guess  that  Elysium  lay  beneath  the  setting  sun.  It  is 
bound  up  in  the  heart  of  man,  that  longing  for  the  West.  I  com- 
plain of  no  one  for  fleeing  away  thither  beyond  the  utmost  sea,  as 
David  wished  to  flee,  and  be  at  peace." 

"  Complain  of  no  one  for  fleeing  thither  ? "  asked  Amyas. 
"  That  is  more  than  I  do." 

Frank  looked  inquiringly  at  him  ;  and  then — 

"  No.  If  I  had  complained  of  anyone,  it  would  have  been  of 
you  just  now,  for  seeming  to  be  tired  of  going  Westward-ho." 

*'  Do  you  wish  me  to  go,  then  ?  " 

•*  God  knows,"  said  Frank,  after  a  moment's  pause.  "  But  I 
must  tell  you  now,  I  suppose,  once  and  for  all.  That  has  happened 
at  Bideford  which " 

"Spare  us  both,  Frank  ;  I  know  all.  I  came  through  Bideford 
on  my  way  hither  ;  and  came  hither  not  merely  to  see  you  and  my 
mother,  but  to  ask  your  advice  and  her  permission." 

"  True  heart !  noble  heart  !  "  cried  Frank.  *'  I  knew  you  would 
be  staunch  ! " 

"  Westward-ho  it  is,  then  ?  " 

"  Can  we  escape  ?  " 

"  Amyas,  does  not  that  which  binds  you  bind  me  ?  " 

Amyas  started  back,  and  held  Frank  by  the  shoulders  at  arm|s 
length  ;  as  he  did  so,  he  could  feel  through,  that  his  brother's 
arms  were  but  skin  and  bone. 

"  You  ?     Dearest  man,  a  month  of  it  would  kill  you  !  " 

Frank  smiled,  and  tossed  his  head  on  one  side  in  his  pretty 
"way. 

"  I  belong  to  the  school  of  Thales,  who  held  that  the  ocean  is 
the  mother  of  all  life  ;  and  feel  no  more  repugnance  at  returning 
to  her  bosom  again  than  Humphrey  Gilbert  did." 

"  But,  Frank, — my  mother  .'' 

"  My  mother  knows  all  ;  and  would  not  have  us  unworthy  of 
her." 

"  Impossible  !     She  will  never  give  you  up  !  " 

'•  All  things  are  possible  to  them  that  believe  in  God,  my  brother  ; 
and  she  believes.  But,  indeed.  Doctor  Dee,  the  wise  man,  gave 
her  but  this  summer  I  know  not  what  of  prognostics  and  diag- 
nostics concerning  me.  I  am  born,  it  seems,  under  a  cold  and 
watery  planet,  a  need,  if  I  am  to  be  long  lived,  to  go  nearer  to 
the  vivifying  heat  of  the  sun,  and  there  bask  out  my  little  life,  like 
fly  on  wall.  To  tell  truth,  he  has  bidden  me  spend  no  more  win- 
ters here  in  the  East  ;  but  return  to  our  native  sea-breezes,  there 
to  warm  my  frozen  lungs  ;  and  has  so  filled  my  mother's  fancy 
with  stories  of  sick  men,  who  were  given  up  for  lost  in  Germany 
and  France,  and  yet  renewed  their  youth,  like  any  serpent  or  eagle, 
by  going  to  Italy,  Spain,  and  the  Canaries,  that  she  herself  will  be 
more  ready  to  let  me  go  than  I  to  leave  her  all  alone.  And  yet  I 
must  go,  Amyas.  It  is  not  merely  that  my  heart  pants,  as  Sidney's 
does,  as  every  gallant's  ought,  to  make  one  of  your  noble  choir  of 


262  WESTWARD  HO  f 

Argonauts,  who  are  now  replenishing  the  earth  and  subduing  it 
for  God  and  for  the  queen  ;  it  is  not  merely,  Amyas,  that  love  calls 
me — iove  tyrannous  and  uncontrollable,  strengthened  by  absence, 
and  deepened  by  despair  ;  but  honor,  Amyas — my  oath " 

And  he  paused  for  lack  of  breath,  and  bursting  into  a  violent 
fit  of  coughing,  leaned  on  his  brother's  shoulder,  while  Amyas 
cried, 

"  Fools,  fools  that  we  were — that  I  was,  I  mean — to  take  that 
fantastical  vow  !  " 

"  Not  so,"  answered  a  gentle  voice  from  behind:  "  you  vowed 
for  the  sake  of  peace  on  earth,  and  goodwill  toward  men,  and 
'  Blessed  are  the  peacemakers,  for  they  shall  be  called  the  children 
of  God.'  No,  my  sons,  be  sure  that  such  self-sacrifice  as  you  have 
shown  will  meet  its  full  reward  at  the  hand  of  Him  who  sacrificed 
Himself  for  you." 

♦'  Oh,  mother  !  mother  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  and  do  you  not  hate  the 
very  sight  of  me — come  here  to  take  away  your  first-born  ?  " 

"My  boy,  God  takes  him,  and  not  you.  And  if  I  dare  believe 
in  such  predictions.  Doctor  Dee  assured  me  that  some  exceeding 
honor  awaited  you  both  in  the  West,  to  each  of  you  according  to 
your  deserts." 

"Ah!"  said  Amyas.  "My  blessing,  I  suppose,  will  be  like 
Esau's,  to  live  by  my  sword  ;  while  Jacob  here,  the  spiritual  man, 
inherits  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  an  angel's  crown." 

"  Be  it  what  it  may,  it  will  surely  be  a  blessing,  as  long  as  you 
are  such,  my  children,  as  you  have  been.  At  least  my  Frank  will 
be  safe  from  the  intrigues  of  court,  and  the  temptations  of  the 
world.  Would  that  I  too  could  go  with  you,  and  share  in  your 
glory  !  Come,  now,"  said  she,  laying  her  head  upon  Amyas's 
breast,  and  looking  up  into  his  face  with  one  of  her  most  winning 
smiles,  "  I  have  heard  of  heroic  mothers  ere  now  who  went  forth  with 
their  sons  to  battle,  and  cheered  them  on  to  victory.  Why  should 
I  not  go  with  you  on  a  more  peaceful  errand  ?  I  could  nurse  the 
sick,  if  there  were  any  ;  I  could  perhaps  have  speech  of  that  poor 
girl,  and  win  her  back  more  easily  than  you.  She  might  listen  to 
words  from  a  woman — a  woman,  too,  wno  has  loved — which  she 
could  not  hear  from  men.  At  least  I  could  mend  and  wash  for 
you.  I  suppose  it  is  as  easy  to  play  the  good  housewife  afloat  as 
on  shore  ?     Come,  now  !  " 

Amyas  looked  from  one  to  the  other. 

"God  only  knows  which  of  the  two  is  less  fit  to  go.  Mother! 
mother  !  you  know  not  what  you  ask.  Frank  !  Frank  !  I  do  not 
want  you  with  me.  This  is  a  sterner  matter  than  either  of  you 
fancy  it  to  be  ;  one  that  must  be  worked  out,  not  with  kind  words, 
but  with  sharp  shot  and  cold  steel." 
"  How  ?  "  cried  both  together,  aghast. 

"  I  must  pay  my  men,  and  pay  my  fellow-adventurers  ;  and  I 
must  pay  them  with  Spanish  gold.  And  what  is  more,  I  cannot, 
as  a  loyal  subject  of  the  queen's,  go  to  the  Spanish  Main  with  a 
clear  conscience  on  my  own  private  quarrel,  unless  I  do  all  the 


WESTIVARD  HO  !  263 

harm  that  my  hand  finds  to  do,  by  day  and  night,  to  her  enemies, 
and  the  enemies  of  God." 

"What  nobler  knight-errantry?"  said  Frank  cheerfully;  but 
Mrs.  Leigh  shuddered. 

"What  !  Frank  too?"  she  said,  half  to  herself;  but  her  sons 
knew  what  she  meant.  Amyas*s  warlike  life,  honorable  and 
righteous  as  she  knew  it  to  be,  she  had  borne  as  a  sad  necessity  : 
but  that  Frank  as  well  should  become  "  a  man  of  blood,"  was 
more  than  her  gentle  heart  could  face  at  first  sight.  That  one 
youthful  duel  of  his  he  had  carefully  concealed  from  her,  knowing 
her  feeling  on  such  matters.  And  it  seemed  too  dreadful  to  her 
to  associate  that  gentle  spirit  with  all  th^  ferocities  and  the  car- 
nage of  a  battlefield.  "  And  yet,"  said  she  to  herself,  "  is  this  but 
another  of  the  self-willed  idols  which  I  must  renounce  one  by 
one  ?"     And  then,  catching  at  a  last  hope,  she  answered — 

"Frank  must  at  least  ask  the  queen's  leave  to  go  ;  and  if  she 
permits,  how  can  I  gainsay  her  wisdom  ?  " 

And  so  the  conversation  dropped  sadly  enough. 

But  now  began  a  fresh  perplexity  in  Frank's  soul,  which  amused 
Amyas  at  first,  when  it  seemed  merely  jest,  but  nettled  him  a  good 
deal  when  he  found  it  earnest.  For  Frank  looked  forward  to 
asking  the  queen's  permission  for  his  voyage  with  the  most  abject 
despondency  and  terror.  Two  or  three  days  passed  before  he 
could  make  up  his  mind  to  ask  for  an  interview  with  her ;  and  he 
spent  the  time  in  making  as  much  interest  with  Leicester,  Hatton, 
and  Sidney,  as  if  he  were  about  to  sue  for  reprieve  from  the 
scaffold. 

So  said  Amyas,  remarking,  further,  that  the  queen  could  not  cut 
his  head  off  for  wanting  to  go  to  sea. 

"  But  what  axe  so  sharp  as  her  frown  ?  "  said  Frank  in  most 
lugubrious  tone. 

Amyas  began  to  whistle  in  a  very  rude  way. 

"Ah,  my  brother,  you  cannot  comprehend  the  pain  of  parting 
from  her." 

"  No,  I  can't.  I  would  die  for  the  least  hair  of  her  royal  head, 
God  bless  it  !  but  I  could  live  very  well  from  now  till  Doomsday 
without  ever  setting  eyes  on  the  said  head." 

•*  Plato's  Troglodytes  regretted  not  that  sunlight  which  they  had 
never  beheld." 

Amyas,  not  understanding  this  recondite  conceit,  made  no 
answer  to  it,  and  there  the  matter  ended  for  the  time.  But  at  last 
Frank  obtained  his  audience  ;  and  after  a  couple  of  hours' absence 
returned  quite  pale  and  exhausted. 

"  Thank  Heaven,  it  is  over  !  She  was  very  angry  at  first — what 
else  could  she  be  ? — and  upbraided  me  with  having  set  my  love  so 
low.  I  could  only  answer,  that  my  fatal  fault  was  committed 
before  the  sight  of  her  had  taught  me  what  was  supremely  lovely, 
and  only  worthy  of  admiration.  Then  she  accused  me  of  disloy- 
alty in  having  taken  an  oath  which  bound  me  to  the  service  ol 
another  than  her.     I  confessed  my  sin  with  tears,  and  when  she 


264  WESTWARD  HO . 

threatened  punishment,  pleaded  that  the  offence  had  avenged  ilseh 
heavily  already, — for  what  worse  punishment  than  exile  from  the 
sunlight  of  her  presence,  into  the  outer  darkness  which  reigns 
vhere  she  is  not  ?  Then  she  was  pleased  to  ask  me,  how  I  could 
dare,  as  her  sworn  servant,  to  desert  her  side  in  such  dangerous 
times  as  these  ;  and  asked  me  how  I  should  reconcile  it  to  my  con- 
science, if  on  my  return  I  found  her  dead  by  the  assassin's  knife  ? 
At  which  most  pathetic  demand  I  could  only  throw  myself  at 
once  on  my  own  knees  and  her  mercy,  and  so  awaited  my  sentence. 
Whereon,  with  that  angelic  pity  which  alone  makes  her  awful- 
ness  endurable,  she  turned  to  Hatton  and  asked,  '  What  say  you, 
Mouton  ?  Is  he  humbled  sufficiently  ? '  and  so  dismissed  me. 
"  Heigh  ho  !  "  yawned  Amyas  ; 

"  If  thebridjre  had  been  stronger, 
My  tale  had  been  longer." 

•♦Amyas!  Amyas!"  quoth  Frank  solemnly,  "you  know  not 
what  power  over  the  soul  has  the  native  and  God-given  majesty 
of  royalty  (awful  enough  in  itself),  when  to  it  is  superadded  the 
wisdom  of  the  sage,  and  therewithal  the  tenderness  of  the  woman. 
Had  I  my  will,  there  should  be  in  every  realm  not  a  salique, 
but  an  anti-salique  law  :  whereby  no  kings,  but  only  queens 
should  rule  mankind.  Then  would  weakness  and  not  power  be 
to  man  the  symbol  of  divinity ;  love,  and  not  cunning,  would  be 
the  arbiter  of  every  cause  ;  and  chivalry,  not  fear,  the  spring  of 
all  obedience." 

"  Humph  !  There's  some  sense  in  that,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  I'd 
run  a  mile  for  a  woman  when  I  would  not  walk  a  yard  for  a  man  ; 
and — Who  is  this  our  mother  is  bringing  in  ?  The  handsomest 
fellow  I  ever  saw  in  my  life  !  " 

Amyas  was  not  far  wrong  ;  for  Mrs.  Leigh's  companion  was 
none  other  than  Mr.  Secretary,  Amyas's  Smerwick  Fort  acquaint- 
ance ;  alias  Colin  Clout,  alias  Immerito,  alias  Edmund  Spencer. 
Some  half-jesting  conversation  had  seemingly  been  passing  be- 
tween the  poet  and  the  saint  ;  for  as  they  came  in  she  said  with  a 
smile  (which  was  somewhat  of  a  forced  one) — 

••Well,  my  dear  sons,  you  are  sure  of  immortality,  at  least  on 
earth  ;  for  IVIr.  Spenser  has  been  vowing  to  me  to  give  your  ad- 
venture a  whole  canto  to  itself  in  his  Fain,'  Queen." 

"And  you  no  less,  madam,"  said  Spenser.  "What  were  the 
story  of  the  Gracchi  worth  without  the  figure  of  Cornelia  .-*  If  I 
honor  the  fruit,  I  must  not  forget  the  stem  which  bears  it.  Frank, 
I  congratulate  you," 

"  Then  you  xcncw^  the  result  of  my  interview,  mother  ?  " 

"I  know  everything,  and  am  content,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

••Mrs.  Leigh  has  reason  to  be  content,"  said  Spenser,  •' with 
that  which  is  but  her  own  likeness." 

"  Spare  your  flattery  to  jn  old  woman,  Mr.  Spenser.  When, 
pray,  did  r(with  a  most  loving  ^ook  at  Frank)  refuse  knighthooc 
tor  duty's  sake  ?  " 


WESTWARD  HO  f  265 

♦*  Knighthood  ? "  cried  Amyas.  "You  never  told  me  that 
Frank ! " 

"  That  may  well  be,  Captain  Leigh,"  said  Spenser  ;  "  but  be- 
lieve me,  her  Majesty  (so  Hatton  assures  me)  told  him  this  day, 
no  less  than  that  by  g  ing  on  this  quest  he  deprived  himself  of 
that  highest  earthly  hon  r,  ^/hich  crowned  heads  are  fain  to  seek 
from  their  own  subjects." 

Spenser  did  not  exaggerate.  Knighthood  was  then  the  prize  of 
merit  only  ;  and  one  so  valuable,  that  Elizabeth  herself  said,  when 
asked  why  she  did  not  bestow  a  peerage  upon  some  favorite,  that 
having  already  knighted  him,  she  had  nothing  better  to  bestow. 
It  remained  for  young  Essex  to  begin  the  degradation  of  the  order 
in  his  hapless  Irish  campaign,  and  for  James  to  complete  that  deg- 
radation by  his  novel  method  of  raising  money  by  the  sale  of 
baronetcies  ;  a  new  order  of  hereditary  knighthood  which  was 
the  laughing-stock  of  the  day,  and  which  (however  venerable  it 
may  have  since  become)  reflects  anything  but  honor  upon  its  first 
possessors. 

"  I  owe  you  no  thanks,  Colin,"  said  Frank,  "for  having  broached 
my  secret :  but  I  have  lost  nothing  after  all.  There  is  still  an 
order  of  knighthood  in  which  I  may  win  my  spurs,  even  though 
her  Majesty  refuse  me  the  accolade." 

"  What,  then  1  you  will  not  take  it  from  a  foreign  prince  ?  " 

Frank  smiled. 

"  Have  you  never  read  of  that  knighthood  which  is  eternal  in 
the  heavens,  and  of  those  true  cavaliers  whom  John  saw  in  Patmos, 
riding  on  white  horses,  clothed  in  fine  linen,  white  and  clean, 
knights-errant  in  the  everlasting  war  against  the  False  Prophet 
and  the  Beast  ?  Let  me  but  become  worthy  of  their  ranks  here- 
after, what  matter  whether  I  be  called  Sir  Frank  on  earth  ?  " 

"  My  son,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh,  •'  remember  that  they  follow  One 
whose  vesture  is  dipped,  not  in  the  blood  of  His  enemies  but  in 
His  own." 

"  I  have  remembered  it  for  many  a  day  ;  and  remembered,  too, 
that  the  garments  of  the  knights  may  need  the  same  tokens  as 
their  captain's." 

"  Oh,  Frank  !  Frank  !  is  not  His  precious  blood  enough  to 
cleanse  all  sin,  without  the  sacrifice  of  our  own  ?" 

"  We  may  need  no  more  than  His  blood,  mother,  and  yet  He 
may  need  ours,"  said  Frank. 

How  that  conversation  ended  I  know  not,  nor  whether  Spenser 
fulfilled  his  purpose  of  introducing  the  two  brothers  and  their 
mother  into  his  Fairy  Queen.  If  so,  the  manuscripts  must  have 
been  lost  among  those  which  perished  (along  with  Spenser's  baby) 
in  the  sack  of  Kilcolma»  by  the  Irish  in  1598.  But  we  need  hardly 
regret  the  loss  of  them  .  for  the  temper  of  the  Leighs  and  their 
mother  is  the  same  which  inspires  every  canto  of  that  noblest  of 
poems  ;  and  which  inspired,  too,  hundreds  in  those  noble  days 


266  WESTIVARD  HO ! 

when  the  chivalry  of  the  Middle  Ages  wae  wedded  to  the  free 
thought  and  enterprise  of  the  new. 

So  mother  and  sons  returned  to  Bideford,  and  set  to  work. 
Frank  mortgaged  a  farm  ;  Will  Cary  did  the  same  (having  some 
land  of  his  own  from  his  mother).  Old  Salterne  grumbled  at  any 
man  save  himself  spending  a  penny  on  the  voyage,  and  forced  on 
the  adventurers  a  good  ship  of  two'hundred  tons  burden,  and  five 
hundred  pounds  toward  fitting  her  out  ;  Mrs.  Leigh  worked  day 
and  night  at  clothes  and  comforts  of  every  kind  ;  Amyas  had  noth- 
ing to  give  bu.t  his  time  and  his  brains  :  but,  as  Salterne  said,  the 
rest  would  have  been  of  little  use  without  them  ;  and  day  after 
day  he  and  the  old  merchant  were  on  board  the  ship,  superintend- 
ing with  their  own  eyes  the  fitting  of  every  rope  and  nail.  Cary 
went  about  beating  up  recruits  ;  and  made,  with  his  jests  and  his 
frankness,  the  best  of  crimps  :  while  John  Brimblecombe,  beside 
himself  with  joy,  toddled  about  after  him  from  tavern  to  tavern, 
and  quay  to  quay,  exalted  for  the  time  being  (as  Cary  told  him) 
into  a  second  Peter  the  Hermit  ;  and  so  fiercely  did  he  preach  a 
crusade  against  the  Spaniards,  through  Bideford  and  Appledore, 
Clovelly  and  Ilfracombe,  that  Amyas  might  have  had  a  hundred 
and  fifty  loose  fellows  in  the  first  fortnight.  But  he  knew  better  ; 
still  smarting  from  the  effects  of  a  similar  haste  in  the  Newfound- 
land adventure,  he  had  determined  to  take  none  but  picked  men  ; 
and  by  dint  of  labor  he  obtained  them. 

Only  one  scapegrace  did  he  take  into  his  crew,  named  Parra- 
combe  ;  and  by  that  scapegrace  hangs  a  tale.  He  was  an  old 
schoolfellow  of  his  at  Bideford,  and  son  of  a  merchant  iri  that 
town — one  of  those  unlucky  members  who  are  "  nobody's  enemy 
but  their  own" — a  handsome,  idle,  clever  fellow,  who  used  his  schol- 
arship, of  which  he  had  picked  up  some  smattering,  chiefly  to 
justify  his  own  escapades,  and  to  string  songs  together.  Having 
drunk  all  that  he  was  worth  at  home,  he  had  in  a  penitent  fit  for- 
sworn liquor,  and 'tormented  Amyas  into  taking  him  to  sea,  where 
he  afterward  made  as  good  a  sailor  as  anyone  else,  but  sorely 
scandalized  John  Brimblecombe  by  all  manner  of  heretical  argu- 
ments, half  Anacreontic,  half  smacking  of  the  rather  loose  doc- 
trines of  that  "  Family  of  Love  "  which  tormented  the  orthodoxy 
and  morality  of  more  than  one  Bishop  of  Exeter.  Poor  Will 
Parracombe  !  he  was  born  a  few  centuries  too  early.  Had  he  but 
lived  now,  he  might  have  published  a  volume  or  two  of  poetry, 
and  then  settled  down  on  the  staff  of  a  newspaper.  Had  he  even 
lived  thirty  years  later  than  he  did,  he  might  have  written  frantic 
tragedies,  or  filthy  comedies,  for  the  edification  of  James's  profligate 
metropolis,  and  roystered  it  in  taverns  with  Marlowe,  to  die  as  Mar- 
lowe did,  by  a  footman's  sword  in  a  drunken  brawl.  But  in  those 
stern  days  such  weak  and  hysterical  spirits  had  no  fair  vent  for  their 
"  humors,"  save  in  being  reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  and 
plotting  with  Jesuits  to  assassinate  the  Queen,  as  Parry,  and  Som* 
erville,  and  many  other  madmen,  did. 


WESTWARD  no  I  267 

So,  at  least,  some  Jesuit  or  other  seems  to  have  thought,  shortly 
alter  Amyas  had  agreed  to  give  the  spendthrift  a  birth  on  board. 
For  one  day  Amyas,  going  down  to  Appledore  about  his  business, 
was  called  into  the  little  "  Mariners'  Rest  "  inn,  to  extract  there- 
from poor  Will  Parrycombe,  who  (in  spite  of  his  vow)  was  drunk 
and  outrageous,  and  had  vowed  the  death  of  the  landlady  and  all 
her  kin.  So  Amyas  fetched  him  out  by  the  collar,  and  walked 
him  home  thereby  to  Bideford  ;  during  which  walk  Will  told  him 
a  long  and  confused  story  ;  how  an  Egyptian  rogue  had  met  him 
that  morning  on  the  sands  by  Boathythe,  offered  to  tell  his  fortune, 
and  prophesied  to  him  great  wealth  and  honor,  but  not  from  the 
Queen  of  England  ;  had  coaxed  him  to  the  Mariners'  Rest,  and 
gambled  with  him  for  liquor,  at  which  it  seemed  Will  always  won, 
and  of  course  drank  his  winnings  on  the  spot  ;  whereon  the 
Egyptian  began  asking  him  all  sorts  of  questions  about  the  pro- 
jected voyage  of  the  Rose — a  good  many  of  which.  Will  confessed, 
he  had  answered  before  he  saw  the  fellow's  drift  ;  after  which  the 
Egyptian  had  offered  him  a  vast  sum  of  money  to  do  some  des- 
perate villany  ;  but  whether  it  was  to  murder  Amyas,  or  the  queen, 
whether  to  bore  a  hole  in  the  bottom  of  the  good  ship  Rose,  or  to 
set  the  Torridge  on  fire  by  art-magic,  he  was  too  drunk  to 
recollect  exactly.  Whereon  Amyas  treated  three-quarters  of 
the  story  as  a  tipsy  dream,  and  contented  himself  by  getting  a 
warrant  against  the  landlady  for  harboring  "  Egyptians,"  which 
was  then  a  heavy  offence — a  gypsy  disguise  being  a  favorite  one 
with  Jesuits  and  their  emissaries.  She  of  course  denied  that  any 
gypsy  had  been  there  ;  and  though  there  were  some  who  thought 
they  had  seen  such  a  man  come  in,  none  had  seen  him  go  out 
again.  On  which  Amyas  took  occasion  to  ask,  what  had  become 
of  the  suspicious  Popish  ostler  whom  he  had  seen  at  the  Mariners' 
Rest  three  years  before  ;  and  discovered,  to  his  surprise,  that  the 
said  ostler  had  vanished  from  the  very  day  of  Don  Guzman's  de- 
parture from  Bideford.  There  was  evidently  a  mystery  some- 
where :  but  nothing  could  be  proved  ;  the  landlady  was  dismissed 
with  a  reprimand,  and  Amyas  soon  forgot  the  whole  matter,  after 
rating  Parracombe  soundly.  After  all,  he  could  not  have  told  the 
gypsy  (if  one  existed)  anything  important  ;  for  the  special  destina- 
tion of  the  voyage  (as  was  the  custom  in  those  times,  for  fear  of 
Jesuits  playing  into  the  hands  of  Spain)  had  been  carefully  kept 
secret  among  the  adventurers  themselves,  and,  except  Yeo  and 
Drew,  none  of  the  men  had  any  suspicion  that  La  Guayra  was  to 
be  their  aim. 

And  Salvation  Yeo  ? 

Salvation  was  almost  wild  for  a  few  days,  at  the  sudden  pros- 
pect of  going  in  search  of  his  little  maid,  and  of  fighting  Spaniards 
once  more  before  he  died.  I  will  not  quote  the  texts  out  of  Isaiah 
and  the  Psalms  with  which  his  mouth  was  filled  from  morning  to 
night,  for  fear  of  seeming  irreverent  in  the  eyes  of  a  generation 
which  does  not  believe,  as  Yeo  believed,  that  fighting  the  Span- 
iards was  as  really  fighting  in  Grtjd's  battle  against  evil  as  were 


268  yVESTWARD  NO! 

the  wars  of  Joshua  or  David.  But  the  old  man  had  his  practical 
hint,  too,  and  entreated  to  be  sent  back  to  Plymouth  to  look  for 
men. 

"  There's  many  a  man  of  the  old  Pelican,  sir,  and  of  Captain 
Hawkins'  Minion,  that  knows  the  Indies  as  well  as  I,  and  longs  to 
be  back  again.  There's  Drew,  sir,  that  we  left  behind  (and  no 
better  sailing-master  for  us  in  the  West  country,  and  has  accounts 
against  the  Spaniards,  too  ;  for  it  was  his  brother,  the  Barnstaple 
man,  that  was  factor  aboard  of  poor  Mr.  Andrew  Barker,  and  got 
clapt  into  the  Inquisition  at  the  Canaries)  ;  you  promised  him,  sir, 
that  night  he  stood  by  you  on  board  the  Raleigh  :  and  if  you'll  be 
as  good  as  your  word,  he'll  be  as  good  as  his  ;  and  bring  a  score 
more  brave  fellows  with  him," 

So  off  went  Yeo  to  Plymouth,  and  returned  with  Drew  and  a 
score  of  old  never-strikes.  One  look  at  their  visages,  as  Yeo 
proudly  ushered  them  into  the  Ship  Tavern,  showed  Amyas  that 
they  were  of  the  metal  which  he  wanted,  and  that,  with  the  four 
North-Devon  men  who  had  gone  round  the  world  with  him  in  the 
Pelican  (who  all  joined  in  the  first  week),  he  had  a  reserve-force 
on  which  he  could  depend  in  utter  need  ;  and  that  utter  need 
might  come  he  knew  as  well  as  any. 

Nor  was  this  all  which  Yeo  had  brought  ;  for  he  had  with  him 
a  letter  from  Sir  Francis  Drake,  full  of  regrets  that  he  had  not 
seen  "  his  dear  lad  "  as  he  went  through  Plymouth.  "  But  indeed 
I  was  up  to  Dartmoor,  surveying  with  cross-staff  and  chain,  over 
my  knees  in  bog  for  three  weeks  or  more.  For  I  have  a  project 
to  bring  down  a  leat  of  fair  v/ater  from  the  hill-tops  right  into 
Plymouth  town,  cutting  off  the  heads  of  Tavy,  Meavy,  Wallcomb, 
and  West  Dart,  and  thereby  purging  Plymouth  harbor  from  the 
silt  of  the  mines  whereby  it  has  been  choked  of  late  years,  and 
giving  pure  drink  not  only  to  the  townsmen,  but  to  the  fleets  of 
the  Queen's  Majesty  ;  which  if  I  do,  I  shall  both  make  some  poor 
return  to  God  for  all  His  unspeakable  mercies,  and  erect  unto  my- 
self a  monument  better  than  of  brass  or  marble,  not  merely  honor- 
able to  me,  but  useful  to  my  countrymen."*  Whereon  Frank  sent 
Drake  a  pretty  epigram,  comparing  Drake's  projected  leat  to  that 
river  of  eternal  life  whereof  the  just  would  drink  throughout  eter- 
nity, and  quoting  (after  the  fashion  of  those  days)  John  vii.  38  ; 
while  Amyas  took  more  heed  of  a  practical  appendage  to  the  same 
letter,  which  was  a  list  of  hints  scrawled  for  his  use  by  Captain 
John  Hawkins  himself,  on  all  sea  matters,  from  the  mounting  of 
ordinance  to  the  use  of  vitriol  against  the  scurvy,  in  default  of 
oranges  and  "  limmons  ;  "  all  which  stood  Amyas  in  good  stead 
during  the  ensuing  month,  while  Frank  grew  more  and  more 
proud  of  his  brother,  and  more  and  more  humble  about  himself. 

For  he  Watched  with  astonishment  how  the  simple  sailor,  with- 
out genius,  scholarship,  or  fancy,  had  gained,  by  plain  honesty, 
patience,  and  common  sense,  a  power  over  the  human  heart,  and 
a  power  over  his  work,  whatsoever  it  might  be,  which  Frank 
•  This  noble  monumeatof  -Drake's  piety  and  public  spirit  still  remains  in  full  UMi 


WESTWARD  HO  !  269 

could  only  admire  afar  off.  The  men  looked  up  to  him  as  infal- 
lible, prided  themselves  on  forestalling  his  wishes,  carried  out  his 
slightest  hint,  worked  early  and  late  to  win  a  smile  from  him  ; 
while  as  for  him,  no  detail  escaped  him,  no  drudgery  sickened 
him,  no  disappointment  angered  him,  till  on  the  15th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1583,  dropped  down  from  Bideford  Quay  to  Appledore  Poo' 
the  tall  ship  Rose,  with  a  hundred  men  on  board  (for  sailors  packed 
close  in  those  days),  beef,  pork,  biscuit,  and  good  ale  (for  ale  went 
to  sea  always  then)  in  abundance,  four  culverins  on  her  main 
deck,  her  poop  and  forecastle  well  fitted  with  swivels  of  every 
size,  and  her  racks  so  full  of  muskets,  calivers,  long  bows,  pikes 
and  swords,  that  all  agreed  so  well-appointed  a  ship  had  never 
sailed  "  out  over  Bar." 

The  next  day  being  Sunday,  the  whole  crew  received  the  Com- 
munion together  at  Northam  Church,  amid  a  mighty  crowd  ;  and 
then  going  on  board  again,  hove  anchor  and  sailed  out  over  the 
Bar  before  a  soft  east  wind,  to  the  music  of  sacbut,  fife  and  drum, 
with  discharge  of  all  ordnance,  great  and  small,  with  cheering  of 
young  and  old  from  cliff  and  strand  and  quay,  and  with  many  a 
tearful  prayer  and  blessing  upon  that  gallant  bar!:,  and  all  brave 
hearts  on  board. 

And  Mrs.  Leigh,  who  had  kissed  her  sons  for  the  last  time  after 
the  Communion  at  the  altar-steps  (and  what  more  fit  place  for  a 
mother's  kiss  ?)  went  to  the  rocky  knoll  outside  the  churchyard 
wall,  and  watched  the  ship  glide  out  between  the  yellow  denes, 
and  lessen  slowly  hour  by  hour  into  the  boundless  West,  till  her 
hull  sank  below  the  dim  horizon,  and  her  white  sails  faded  away 
into  the  gray  Atlantic  mist,  perhaps  forever. 

And  Mrs.  Leigh  gathered  her  cloak  about  her,  and  bowed  her 
head  and  worshipped  ;  and  then  went  home  to  loneliness  and 
prayer. 


CHAPTER  XVIL 

HOW  THEY  CAME  TO  BARBADOS,  AND  FOUND  NO  MEN  THEREIN. 

"  The  sun's  rim  dips  ;  the  stars  rush  out ; 
At  one  stride  comes  tlie  dark-"— ColerIdob. 

Land  !  land  !  land  !  Yes,  there  it  was,  far  away  to  the  south 
and  west,  beside  the  setting  sun,  a  long  blue  bar  between  the 
crimson  sea  and  golden  sky.  Land  at  last,  with  fresh  streams, 
and  cooling  fruits,  and  free  room  for  cramped  and  scurvy- 
weakened  limbs.  And  there,  too,  might  be  gold,  and  gems,  and 
all  the  wealth  of  Ind.  Who  knew  ?  Why  not  ?  The  old  world 
of  fact  and  prose  lay  thousands  of  miles  behind  them,  and  before 


iyb  WESTWARD  HOI 

them  and  around  them  was  the  realm  of  wonder  and  fable,  o! 
boundless  hope  and  possibility.  Sick  men  crawled  up  out  of 
their  stifling  hammocks  ;  strong  men  fell  on  their  knees  and  gave 
God  thanks  ;  and  all  eyes  and  hands  were  stretched  eagerly 
toward  the  far  blue  clouds,  fading  as  the  sun  sank  down,  yet 
rising  higher  and  broader  as  the  ship  rushed  o^  before  the  rich 
trade-wind,  which  whispered  lovingly  round  brow  and  sail,  "  I 
am  the  faithful  friend  of  those  who  dare  !  "  "  Blow  freshly, 
freshlier  yet,  thou  good  trade-wind,  of  whom  it  is  written  that 
He  makes  the  winds  His  angels,  ministering  breaths  to  the  heirs 
of  His  salvation.  Blow  freshlier  yet,  and  save,  if  not  me  from 
death,  yet  her  from  worse  than  death.  Blow  on,  and  land  me  at 
her  feet,  to  call  the  lost  lamb  home,  and  die  !  " 

So  murmured  Frank  to  himself,  as  with  straining  eyes  he  gazed 
upon  that  first  outlier  of  the  New  World  which  held  his  all.  His 
cheeks  were  thin  and  wasted,  and  the  hectic  spot  on  each  glowed 
crimson  in  the  crimson  light  of  the  setting  sun.  A  few  minutes 
more,  and  the  rainbows  of  the  West  were  gone  ;  emerald  and 
topaz,  amethyst  and  ruby,  had  faded  into  silver-gray  ;  and  over- 
head, through  the  dark  sapphire  depths,  the  Moon  and  Venus 
reigned  above  the  sea. 

"  That  should  be  Barbados,  your  worship,"  said  Drew,  the 
master  ;  "unless  my  reckoning  is  far  out,  which,  Heaven  knows, 
it  has  no  right  to  be,  after  such  a  passage,  and  God  be  praised." 

"  Barbados  ?     I  never  heard  of  it." 

"  Very  like,  sir  :  but  Yeo  and  I  were  here  with  Captain  Drake, 
and  I  was  here  after,  too,  with  poor  Captain  Barlow  ;  and  there 
is  good  harborage  to  the  south  and  west  of  it,  I  remember." 

"  And  neither  Spaniard,  cannibal,  or  other  evil  beast,"  said 
YeO.  "  A  very  garden  of  the  Lord,  sir,  hid  away  in  the  seas,  for 
an  inheritance  to  those  who  love  Him.  I  heard  Captain  Drake 
talk  of  planting  it,  if  ever  he  had  a  chance." 

"  I  recollect  now,"  said  Amyas,  "some  talk  between  him  and 
poor  Sir  Humphrey  about  an  island  here.  Would  God  he  had 
gone  thither  instead  of  to  Newfoundland  !  " 

"  Nay,  then,"  said  Yeo,  "  he  is  in  bliss  now  with  the  Lord  ; 
and  you  would  not  have  kept  him  from  that,  sir  ?  " 

"  He  would  have  waited  as  willingly  as  he  went,  if  he  could 
have  served  his  queen  thereby.  But  what  say.  yo.u,  my  masters.  ? 
How  can  we  do  better  than  to  spend  a  few  days  here,  to  get  our 
sick  round,  before  we  make  the  Main,  and  set  to  our  work  ?  " 

All  approved  the  counsel  except  Frank,  who  was  silent. 

"  Come,  fellow-adventurer,"  said  Cary,  "  we  must  have  your 
voice  too." 

"  To  my  impatience,  Will,"  said  he,  aside  in  a  low  voice, 
"  there  is  but  one  place  on  earth,  and  I  am  all  day  longing  for 
wings  to  fly  thither  :  but  the  counsel  is  right.     I  approve  it." 

So  the  verdict  was  announced,  and  received  with  a  hearty  cheer 
by  the  crew  ;  and  long  before  morning  they  had  run  along  the 
southern  shore  of  the  island,  and  were   feeling  their  way  into  the 


WESTWARD  HO!  2 7 1 

bay  where  Bridgetown  now  stands.  All  eyes  were  eagerly  fixed 
on  the  low  wooded  hills  which  slept  in  the  moonlight,  spangled 
by  fire-flies,  with  a  million  dancing  stars  ;  all  nostrils  drank  greed- 
ily the  fragrant  air,  which  swept  from  the  land,  laden  with  the 
scent  of  a  thousand  flowers  ;  all  ears  welcomed,  as  a  grateful 
change  from  the  monotonous  whisper  and  lap  of  the  water,  the 
hum  of  insects,  the  snore  of  the  tree-toads,  the  plaintive  notes  of 
the  shore-fowl,  which  fill  a  tropic  night  with  noisy  life. 

At  last  she  stopped  ;  at  last  the  cable  rattled  through  the  hawse- 
hole  ;  and  then,  careless  of  the  chance  of  lurking  Spaniard  or  Carib, 
an  instinctive  cheer  burst  from  every  throat.  Poor  fellows  ! 
Amyas  had  much  ado  to  prevent  them  going  on  shore  at  once, 
dark  as  it  was,  by  reminding  them  that  it  wanted  but  two  hours 
of  day. 

"  Never  were  two  such  long  hours,"  said  one  young  lad,  fidget- 
ing up  and  down. 

"  You  never  were  in  the  Inquisition,"  said  Yeo,  "  or  you'd 
know  better  how  slow  time  can  run.  Stand  you  still,  and  give 
God  thanks  you're  where  you  are." 

"  I  say.  Gunner,  be  there  goold  to  that  island  1  " 

"  Never  heard  of  none  ;  and  so  much  the  better  for  it,"  said 
Yeo  dryly. 

"  But,  I  say,  Gunner,"  said  a  poor  scurvy-stricken  cripple,  lick- 
ing his  lips,  "  be  there  oranges  and  limmons  there  ?  " 

"  Not  of  my  seeing  ;  but  plenty  of  good  fruit  down  to  the  beach, 
thank  the  Lord.     There  comes  the  dawn  at  last." 

Up  flushed  the  rose,  up  rushed  the  sun,  and  the  level  rays  glit- 
tered on  the  smooth  stems  of  the  palm-trees,  and  threw  rainbows 
across  the  foam  upon  the  coral-reefs,  and  gilded  lonely  uplands 
far  away,  where  now  stands  many  a  stately  country-seat  and  busy 
engine-house.  Long  lines  of  pelicans  went  clanging  out  to  sea  ; 
the  hum  of  the  insects  hushed,  and  a  thousand  birds  burst  into 
jubilant  song  ;  a  thin  blue  mist  crept  upward  toward  the  inner 
downs,  and  vanished,  leaving  them  to  quiver  in  the  burning  glare  ; 
the  land-breeze,  which  had  blown  fresh  out  to  sea  all  night,  died 
away  into  glassy  calm,  and  the  tropic  day  was  begun. 

The  sick  were  lifted  over  the  side,  and  landed  boat-load  after 
boat-load  on  the  beach,  to  stretch  themselves  in  the  shade  of  the 
palms  ;  and  in  half-an-hour  the  whole  crew  were  scattered  on  the 
shore,  except  some  dozen  worthy  men,  who  had  volunteered  to 
keep  watch  and  ward  on  board  till  noon. 

And  now  the  first  instinctive  cry  of  nature  was  for  fruit  !  fruit  ! 
fruit  !  The  poor  lame  wretches  crawled  from  place  to  place 
plucking  greedily  the  violet  grapes  of  the  creeping  shore  vine, 
and  straining  their  mouths  and  blistering  their  lips  with  the  prickly 
pears,  in  spite  of  Yeo's  entreaties  and  warnings  against  the  thorns. 
Some  of  the  healthy  began  hewing  down  cocoa-nut  trees  to  get  at 
the  nuts,  doing  little  thereby  but  blunt  their  hatchets  ;  till  Yeo 
and  Drew,  having  mustered  half-a-dozen  reasonable  men,  went 
off  inland,  and  returned  in  an  hour  laden  with  the  dainties  of  that 


272  WESTWARD  HO! 

primeval  orchard, — with  acid  junipa-apples,  luscious  guavas,  and 
crowned  ananas,  queen  of  all  the  fruits,  which  they  had  found  by 
hundreds  on  the  broiling  ledges  of  the  low  tufa-cliffs  ;  and  then 
all,  sitting  on  the  sandy  turf,  defiant  of  galliwasps  and  jack- 
spaniards,  and  all  the  weapons  of  the  insect  host,  partook  of  the 
equal  banquet,  while  old  blue  land-crabs  sat  in  the.r  house-doors 
and  brandished  their  fists  in  defiance  at  the  invaders,  and  solemn 
cranes  stood  in  the  water  on  the  shoals  with  their  heads  on  one 
side,  and  meditated  how  long  it  was  since  they  had  seen  bipeds 
without  feathers  breaking  the  solitude  of  their  isle. 

And  Frank  wandered  up  and  down,  silent,  but  rather  in  wonder 
than  in  sadness,  while  great  Amyas  walked  after  him,  his  mouth 
full  of  junipa-apples,  and  enacted  the  part  of  showman,  with  a 
sort  of  patronzing  air,  as  one  who  had  seen  the  wonders  already, 
and  was  above  being  astonished  at  them. 

"  New,  new  ;  everything  new  I  "  said  Frank  meditatively.  "  Oh, 
awful  feeling  !  All  things  changed  around  us,  even  to  the  tiniest 
fly  and  flower  ;  yet  we  the  same  ;  the  same  forever  !  " 

Amyas  to  whom  such  utterances  were  altogether  sibylline  and 
unintelligible,  answered  by — 

"  Look,  Frank,  that's  a  colibri.     You've  heard  of  colibris  ?  " 

Frank  looked  at  the  living  gem,  which  hung,  loud  humming, 
over  some  fantastic  bloom,  and  then  dashed  away,  seemingly  to 
call  his  mate,  and  whirred  and  danced  with  it  round  and  round 
the  flower-starred  bushes,  flashing  fresh  rainbows  at  every  shifting 
of  the  lights. 

Frank  watched  solemnly  awhile  and  then — 

"  Qualis  Natura  formatrix,  si  talis  formata  .''  Oh,  my  God,  how 
fair  must  be  Thy  real  world,  if  even  Thy  phantoms  are  so  fair  !  " 

"  Phantoms  ?  "  asked  Amyas  uneasily.  "  That's  no  ghost, 
Frank,  but  a  jolly  little  honey-sucker,  with  a  wee  wife,  and  chil- 
dren no  bigger  than  peas,  but  yet  solid  greedy  little  fellows  enough, 
m  warrant." 

*'  Not  phantoms  in  thy  sense,  good  fellow,  but  in  the  sense  of 
those  who  know  the  worthlessness  of  all  below.' 

"  I'll  tell  you  what,  brother  Frank,  you  are  a  great  deal  wiser 
than  me,  I  know  ;  but  I  can't  abide  to  see  you  turn  up  your  nose 
as  it  were  at  God's  good  earth.  See  now,  God  made  all  these 
things  ;  and  never  a  man,  perhaps,  set  eyes  on  them  till  fifty  years 
agone  ;  and  yet  they  were  as  pretty  as  they  are  now,  ever  since 
the  making  of  the  world.  And  why  do  you  think  God  could  have 
put  them  here,  then,  but  to  please  Himself" — and  Amyas  took  off 
his  hat — "  with  the  sight  of  them  ?  Now,  I  say,  brother  Frank, 
what's  good  enough  to  please  God,  is  good  enough  to  please  you 
and  me." 

"Your  rebuke  is  just,  dear  old  simple-hearted  fellow  ;  and  God 
forgive  me,  if  with  all  my  learning,  which  has  brought  me  no 
profit,  and  my  longings,  which  have  brought  me  no  peace,  I  pre- 
sume at  moments,  sinner  that  I  am,  to  be  more  dainty  than  the 
Lord    Himself.     He   v/alked  in  Paradise    among  the   trees  of  th« 


WESTWARD  HO!  273 

garden,  Amyas  ;  and  so  will  we,  and  be  content  with  what  He 
sends.  Why  should  we  long  for  the  next  world,  before  we  are  fit 
even  for  this  one  ?  " 

"  And  in  the  meanwhile,"  said  Amyas,  "  this  earth's  quite  good 
enough,  at  least  here  in  Barbados." 

"  Do  you  believe,"  asked  Frank,  trying  to  turn  his  own  thoughts, 
"  in  those  tales  of  the  Spaniards,  that  the  Sirens  and  Tritons  are 
heard  singing  in  these  seas  ?  " 

"  I  can't  tell.  There's  more  fish  in  the  water  than  ever  came 
out  of  it,  and  more  wonders  in  the  world,  I'll  warrant,  than  we 
ever  dreamt  of ;  but  I  was  never  in  these  parts  before  ;  and  in 
the  South  Sea,  I  must  say,  I  never  came  across  any,  though  Yeo 
says  he  has  heard  fair  music  at  night  up  in  the  Gulf,  far  away 
from  land." 

"  The  Spaniards  report  that  at  certain  seasons  choirs  of  these 
nymphs  assemble  in  the  sea,  and  with  ravishing  music  sin^  their 
watery  loves.  It  may  be  so.  For  Nature,  which  has  peopled  the 
land  with  rational  souls,  may  not  have  left  the  sea  altogether 
barren  of  them  ;  above  all,  when  we  remember  that  the  ocean  is 
as  it  were  the  very  fount  of  all  fertility,  and  its  slime  (as  the  most 
learned  hold  with  Thales  of  Miletus)  that  prima  materia  out  of 
which  all  things  were  one  by  one  concocted.  Therefore,  the  an- 
cients feigned  wisely  that  Venus,  the  mother  of  all  living  things, 
whereby  they  designed  the  plastic  force  of  nature,  was  born  of 
the  sea-foam,  and  rising  from  the  deep,  floated  ashore  upon  the 
isles  of  Greece." 

"  I  don't  know  what  plastic  force  is  ;  but  I  wish  I  had  had  the 
luck  to  be  by  when  the  pretty  poppet  came  up  :  however,  the 
nearest  thing  I  ever  saw  to  that  was  maidens  swimming  alongside 
of  us  when  we  were  in  the  South  Seas,  and  would  have  come 
aboard,  too  ;  but  Drake  sent  them  all  off  again  for  a  lot  of  naughty 
packs,  and  I  verily  believe  they  were  no  better.  Look  at  the  but- 
terflies, now  !  Don't  you  wish  you  were  a  boy  again,  and  not  too 
proud  to  go  catching  them  in  your  cap  ?  " 

And  so  the  two  wandered  on  together  through  the  glorious 
tropic  woods,  and  then  returned  to  the  beach  to  find  the  sick  al- 
ready grown  cheerful,  and  many  who  that  morning  could  not  stir 
from  their  hammocks,  pacing  up  and  down,  and  gaining  strength 
with  every  step. 

"  Well  done,  lads  !  "  cried  Amyas,  "  keep  a  cheerful  mind.  We 
will  have  the  music  ashore  after  dinner,  for  want  of  mermaids  to 
sing  to  us,  and  those  that  can  dance  may." 

And  so  those  four  days  were  spent  ;  and  the  men,  like  school- 
boys on  a  holiday,  gave  themselves  up  to  simple  merriment,  not 
forgetting,  however,  to  wash  the  clothes,  take  in  fresh  water,  and 
store  up  a  good  supply  of  such  fruit  as  seemed  likely  to  keep  ; 
until,  tired  with  fruitless  rambles  after  gold,  which  they  expected 
to  find  in  every  bush,  in  spite  of  Yeo's  warnings  that  none  had 
been  heard  of  on  the  island,  they  were  fain  to  lounge  about,  full- 
grown  babies,  picking  up  shells  and  sea-fans  to  take  home  to 


274  WESTIVARD  HO  I 

their  sweethearts,  smoking-  agoutis  out  of  the  hollow  trees,  with 
shout  and  laughter,  and  tormenting  every  living  thing  they  could 
come  near,  till  not  a  land-crab  dare  look  out  of  his  hole,  or  an 
armadillo  unroll  himself,  till  they  were  safe  out  of  the  bay,  and  off 
again  to  the  westward,  unconscious  pioneers  of  all  the  wealth,  and 
commerce,  and  beauty,  and  science  which  has  in  later  centuries 
made  that  lovely  isle  the  richest  gem  of  all  the  tropic  seas. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HOW  THEY   TOOK  THE   PEARLS    AT   MARGARITA. 

P.  Henry.     Why,  what  a  rascal  art  thou,  then,  to  praise  him  so  for  running  t 
Falstaff.     O'  horseback,  ye  cuckoo  !  but  a-fool,  he  will  not  budge  a  foot. 
P.  Henry.     Yes,  Jack,  upon  instinct. 
Falstaff,     I  grant  ye,  upon  instinct. 

HettryIV.Vt.\. 

They  had  slipped  past  the  southern  point  of  Grenada  in  the 
night,  and  were  at  last  within  that  fairy  ring  of  islands,  on  which 
nature  had  concentrated  all  her  beauty,  and  man  all  his  sin.  If 
Barbados  had  been  invested  in  the  eyes  of  the  new-comers  with 
some  strange  glory,  how  much  more  the  seas  on  which  they  now 
entered,  which  smile  in  almost  perpetual  calm,  untouched  by  the 
hurricane  which  roars  past  them  far  to  northward  !  Sky,  sea, 
and  islands  were  one  vast  rainbow  ;  though  little  marked,  per- 
haps, by  those  sturdy  practical  sailors,  whose  main  thought  was 
of  Spanish  gold  and  pearls  ;  and  as  little  by  Amyas,  who,  accus- 
tomed to  the  scenery  of  the  tropics,  was  speculating  inwardly  on 
the  possibility  of  extirpating  the  Spaniards,  and  annexing  the  West 
Indies  to  the  domains  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  And  yet  even  their 
unpoetic  eyes  could  not  behold  without  awe  and  excitement  lands 
so  famous  and  yet  so  new,  around  which  all  the  wonder,  all 
the  pity,  and  all  the  greed  of  the  age  had  concentrated  itself.  It 
was  an  awful  thought,  and  yet  inspiriting,  that  they  were  entering 
regions  all  but  unknown  to  Englishmen,  where  the  penalty  of 
failure  would  be  worse  than  death — the  torments  of  the  Inquisi- 
tion. Not  more  than  five  times  before,  perhaps,  had  those  myste- 
rious seas  been  visited  by  English  keels;  but  there  were  those  on 
board  who  knew  them  well,  and  too  well  ;  who,  tirst  of  all  British 
mariners,  had  attempted  under  Captain  John  Hawkins  to  trade 
along  those  very  coasts,  and,  interdicted  from  the  necessaries  of 
life  by  Spanish  jealousy,  had,  in  true  English  fashion,  won  their 
markets  at  the  sword's  point,  and  then  bought  and  sold  honestly 
and  peaceably  therein.  The  old  mariners  of  the  Pelican  and 
the  Minion  were  questioned  all  day  long  for  the  names  of  every 


WESTWARD  HO!  27 J 

isle  and  cape,  every  fish  and  bird  ;  while  Frank  stood  by,  listening 
serious  and  silent. 

A  great  awe  seemed  to  have  possessed  his  soul  :  yet  not  a  sad 
one  :  for  his  face  seemed  daily  to  drink  in  glory  from  the  glory 
round  him  ;  and  murmuring  to  himself  at  whiles,  "  This  is  the 
gate  of  heaven,"  he  stood  watching  all  day  long,  careless  of  food 
and  rest,  as  ever}'  forward  plunge  of  the  ship  displayed  some  fresh 
wonder.  Islands  and  capes  hung  high  in  air,  with  their  inverted 
images  below  them  ;  long  sand-hills  rolled  and  weltered  in  the 
mirages  ;  and  the  yellow  tiower-beds,  and  huge  thorny  cacti  like 
giant  candelabra,  which  clothed  the  glaring  slopes,  twisted,  tossed 
and  flickered,  till  the  whole  scene  seemed  one  blazing  phantom- 
world,  in  which  everything  was  as  unstable  as  it  was  fantastic, 
even  to  the  sun  itself,  distorted  into  strange  oval  and  pear-shaped 
figures  by  the  beds  of  crimson  mist  through  which  he  sank  to 
rest.  But  while  Frank  wondered,  Yeo  rejoiced  ;  for  to  the  south- 
ward of  that  setting  sun  a  cluster  of  tall  peaks  rose  from  the  sea  ; 
and  they,  unless  his  reckonings  were  wrong,  were  the  mountains 
of  Macanao,  at  the  western  end  of  Margarita,  the  Isle  of  Pearls, 
then  famous  in  all  the  cities  of  the  Mediterranean,  and  at  the 
great  German  fairs,  and  second  only  in  richness  to  that  pearl 
island  in  the  gulf  of  Panama,  which  fifteen  years  before  had  cost 
John  Oxenham  his  life. 

The  next  day  saw  them  running  along  the  north  side  of  the 
island,  having  passed  undiscovered  (as  far  as  they  could  see)  the 
castle  which  the  Spaniards  had  built  at  the  eastern  end  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  pearl  fisheries. 

At  last  they  opened  a  deep  and  still  bight,  wooded  to  the 
water's  edge  ;  and  lying  in  the  roadstead  a  caravel,  and  three 
boats  by  her.  And  at  that  sight  there  was  not  a  man  but  was 
on  deck  at  once,  and  not  a  mouth  but  was  giving  its  opinion  of 
what  should  be  done.  Some  v;ere  for  sailing  right  into  the  road- 
stead, the  breeze  blowing  fresh  toward  the  shore  (as  it  usually 
does  throug;hout  those  islands  in  the  afternoon).  However, 
seeing  the  billows  break  here  and  there  off  the  bay's  mouth,  they 
thought  it  better,  for  fear  of  rocks,  to  run  by  quietly,  and  then 
send  in  the  pinnace  and  the  boat.  Yeo  would  have  had  them 
show  Spanish  colors,  for  fear  of  alarming  the  caravel  ;  but 
Amyas  stoutly  refused,  "counting  it,"  he  said,  "a  mean  thing  to 
tell  a  lie  in  that  way,  unless  in  extreme  danger,  or  for  great  ends 
of  state." 

So  holding  on  their  course  till  they  v/ere  shut  out  by  the  next 
point,  they  started  ;  Gary  in  the  largest  boat  with  twenty  men, 
and  Amyas  in  the  smaller  one  with  fifteen  more  ;  among  whom 
was  John  Brimblecombe.  who  must  needs  come  in  his  cassock  and 
bands,  with  an  old  sword  of  his  uncle's  which  he  prized  mightily. 

When  they  came  to  the  bight's  mouth  they  found,  as  they 
had  expected]  coral  rocks,  and  too  many  of  them  ;  so  that  they  had 
to  run  along  the  edge  of  the  reef  a  long  way  before  they  could 
find  a  passage  for  the  boats.     While  they  were  so  doing,  and  those 


t'j^  WESTWARD  HO  t 

of  them  who  were  new  to  the  Indies  were  admiring  through 
the  clear  element  those  living  flower-beds,  and  subaqueous  gardens 
ofNereusand  Amphitrite,  there  suddenly  appeared  below  what 
Yeo  called  "  a  school  of  sharks,"  some  of  them  nearly  as  long  as 
the  boat,  who  looked  up  at  them  wistfully  enough  out  of  their 
wicked  scowling  eyes. 

"  Jack,"  said  Amyas,  who  sat  next  to  him,  "  look  how  that  big 
fellow  eyes  thee  :  he  has  surely  taken  a  fancy  to  that  plump  hide 
of  thine,  and  thinks  thou  wouldst  eat  as  tender  as  any  sucking 
porker." 

Jack  turned  very  pale,  but  said  nothing. 

Now,  as  it  befell,  just  then  that  very  big  fellow,  seeing  a  parrot- 
fish  come  out  of  a  cleft  of  the  coral,  made  at  him  from  below,  as 
did  two  or  three  more  ;  the  poor  fish  finding  no  other  escape, 
leaped  clean  into  the  air,  and  almost  aboard  the  boat  ;  while  just 
where  he  had  come  out  of  the  water,  three  or  four  great  brown 
shagreened  noses  clashed  too^ether  within  two  yards  of  Jack  as  he 
sat,  each  showing  its  horrible  rows  of  saw  teeth,  and  then  sank 
sulkily  down  again,  to  watch  for  a  fresh  bait.  At  which  Jack 
said  very  softly,  "In  manus  tuas,  Domine  !  "  and  turning  his  eyes 
inboard,  had  no  lust  to  look  at  sharks  any  more. 

So  having  got  through  the  reef,  in  they  ran  with  a  fair  breeze, 
the  caravel  not  being  now  a  musket-shot  off.  Gary  laid  her 
aboard  before  the  Spaniards  had  time  to  get  to  their  ordnance  ; 
Ji.nd  standing  up  in  the  stern-sheets,  shouted  to  them  to  yield. 
The  captain  asked  boldly  enough,  in  whose  name  ?  "  In  the  name 
of  common  sense,  ye  dogs,"  cries  Will ;  "  do  you  not  see  that  you 
are  but  fifty  strong  to  our  twenty  ?  "  Whereon  up  the  side  he 
scrambled,  and  the  captain  fired  a  pistol  at  him.  Gary  knocked 
him  over,  unwilling  to  shed  needless  blood  ;  on  which  all  the  crew 
yielded,  some  falling  on  their  knees,  some  leaping  overboard  .; 
and  the  prize  was  taken. 

In  the  meanwhile,  Amyas  had  pulled  round  under  her  stern, 
and  boarded  the  boat  which  was  second  froai  her,  for  the  nearest 
was  fast  alongside,  and  so  a  sure  prize.  The  Spaniards  in  her 
yielded  without  a  blow,  crying  "  Misericordia  ;  "  and  the  negroes, 
leaping  overboard,  swam  ashore  like  sea-dogs.  Meanwhile,  the 
third  boat,  which  was  not  an  oar's  length  off,  turned  to  pull  away. 
Whereby  befell  a  notable  adventure  :  for  John  Brimblecombe, 
casting  about  in  a  valiant  mind  how  he  should  distinguish  him- 
self that  day,  must  needs  catch  up  a  boat-hook,  and  claw  on^to 
her  stern,  shouting  "  Stay,  ye  Papists  !  ^  Stay,  Spanish  dogs  !  "— 
by  which,  as  was  to  be  expected,  they  being  ten  to  his  one,  he  was 
forthwith  pulled  overboard,  and  fell  all  along  on  his  nose  in  the 
sea,  leaving  the  hook  fast  in  her  stern. 

Where,  I  know  not  how,  being  seized  with  some  panic  fear  (his 
lively  imagination  filling  all  the  sea  with  those  sharks  which  he 
had  just  seen),  he  fell  a-roaring  like  any  town-bull,  and  in  his 
confusion  never  thought  to  turn  and  get  aboard  again,  but  struck 
out  lustilv  after  the  Spanish   boat,  whether  in   hope  of  catching 


WESTH^ARD  HO!  277 

hold  of  the  boat-hook  which  trailed  behind  her,  or  from  a  very 
madness  of  valor,  no  man  could  divine  ;  but  on  he  swam,  his 
cassock  afloat  behind  him,  looking-  for  all  the  world  like  a  great 
black  monk-hsh,  and  howling  and  puffing,  with  his  mouth  full  of 
salt  water,  "  Stay,  ye  Spanish  dogs  !  Help,  all  good  fellows  ! 
See  you  not  that  I  am  a  dead  man  ?  They  are  nuzzling  already 
at  my  toes  !  He  hath  hold  of  my  leg  !  My  right  thigh  is  bitten 
clean  off !  Oh  that  I  were  preaching  in  Hartland  pulpit  !  Stay, 
Spanish  dogs  !  Yield,  Papist  cowards,  lest  I  make  mincemeat  01 
you  ;  and  take  me  aboard  !  Yield,  I  say,  or  my  blood  be  on  your 
heads  !  I  am  no  Jonah  ;  if  he  swallow  me,  he  will  never  cast  me 
up  again  !  it  is  better  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  man,  than  into  the 
hands  of  devils  with  three  rows  of  teeth  apiece.  Jjt  manus  tuas. 
Orate  pro  aniina /" 

And  so  forth,  in  more  frantic  case  than  ever  was  Panurge  in 
that  his  ever-memorable  sea-sickness  ;  till  the  English,  expecting 
him  every  manute  to  be  snapped  up  by  sharks,  or  brained  by  the 
Spaniard's  oars,  let  fly  a  volley  into  the  fugitives,  on  which  they 
all  leaped  overboard  like  their  fellows;  whereon  Jack  scrambled 
into  the  boat,  and  drawing  sword  with  one  hand,  while  he  wiped 
the  water  out  of  his  eyes  with  the  other,  began  to  lay  about  him 
like  a  very  lion,  cutting  the  empty  air,  and  crying,  "Yield,  idol- 
aters !  Yield,  Spanish  dogs  !  "  However,  coming  to  himself 
after  a  while,  and  seeing  that  there  was  no  one  on  whom  to  flesh 
his  maiden  steel,  he  sits  down  panting  in  the  sternsheets,  and  be- 
gins stripping  off  his  hose.  On  which  Amyas,  thinking  surely 
that  the  good  fellow  had  gone  mad  with  some  stroke  of  the  sun, 
or  by  having  fallen  into  the  sea  after  being  overheated  with  his 
rowing,  bade  pull  alongside,  and  asked  him  in  heaven's  name 
what  he  was  doing  with  his  nether  tackle.  On  which  Jack,  amid 
such  laughter  as  may  be  conceived,  vowed  and  swore  that  his 
right  thigh  was  bitten  clean  through,  and  to  the  bone  ;  yea,  and 
that  he  felt  his  hose  full  of  blood  ;  and  so  would  have  swooned 
away  for  imaginar)^  loss  of  blood  (so  strong  was  the  delusion  on 
him)  had  not  his  friends,  after  much  arguing  on  their  part,  and 
anger  on  his,  persuaded  him  that  he  was  whole  and  sound. 

After  which  they  set  to  work  to  overhaul  their  maiden  prize, 
which  they  found  full  of  hides  and  salt-pork  ;  and  yet  not  of  that 
alone  ;  for  in  the  captain's  cabin,  and  also  in  the  sternsheets  of 
the  boat  which  Brimblecombe  had  so  valorously  boarded,  were 
certain  frails  of  leaves  packed  neatly  enough,  which  being  opened 
were  full  of  goodly  pearls,  though  somewhat  brown  (for  the 
Spaniards  used  to  damage  the  color  in  their  haste  and  greediness, 
opening  the  shells  by  fire,  instead  of  leaving  them  to  decay  gradu- 
ally after  the  Arabian  fashion)  ;  with  which  prize,  though  they 
could  not  guess  its  value  very  exactly,  they  went  off  content 
enough,  after  some  malicious  fellow  had  set  the  ship  on  fire, 
which,  being  laden  with  hides,  was  no  nosegay  as  it  burnt. 

Amyas  was  very  angry  at  this  wanton  damage,  in  which  his 
model,  Drake,  had  never  indulged  ;  but  Gary  had  his  jest  ready. 


278  WESTWARD  HO! 

"  Ah  !"  said  he,  "  '  Lutheran  devils  '  we  are,  you  know  ;  so  wc 
are  bound  to  vanish,  like  other  fiends,  with  an  evil  savor." 

As  soon,  however,  as  Amyas  was  on  board  again,  he  rounded 
his  friend  Mr.  Brimblecombe  in  the  ear,  and  told  him  he  had 
better  play  the  man  a  little  more,  roaring-  less  before  he  was  hurt, 
and  keeping  his  breath  to  help  his  strokes,  if  he  wished  the  crew 
to  listen  much  to  his  discourses.  Frank,  hearing  this,  bade 
Amyas  leave  the  offender  to  him,  and  so  began  upon  him  with — 

"Come  hither,  thou  recreant  Jack,  thou  lily-livered  Jack,  thou 
hysterical  Jack.  Tell  me  now,  thou  hast  read  Plato's  Dialogues, 
and  Aristotle's  Logic  ?  " 

To  which  Jack  very  meekly  answered,  "  Yes." 

"Then  I  will  deal  with  ihee  after  the  manner  of  those  ancient 
sages,  and  ask  whether  the  greater  must  not  contain  the  less  ?  " 

y^c^. — Yes,  sure. 

Frank. — And  that  which  is  more  than  a  part,  contain  that  part, 
more  than  which  it  is  ? 

Jack. — Yes,  sure. 

Frank. — Then  tell  me,  is  not  a  priest  more  than  a  layman  1 

Jack  (who  was  always  very  loud  about  the  dignity  of  the  priest- 
hood, as  many  of  his  cloth  are,  who  have  no  other  dignity  where- 
on to  stand)  answered  very  boldly — "Of  course." 

Frank, — Then  a  priest  containeth  a  man,  and  is  a  man,  and 
something  over — viz.  his  priesthood  ? 

Jack  (who  saw  whither  this  would  lead). — I  suppose  so. 

Frank. — Then,  if  a  priest  show  himself  no  man,  he  shows  him- 
self  all  the  more  no  priest  ? 

"I'll  tell  you  what.  Master  Frank,"  says  Jack,  "you  may  be 
right  by  logic  ;  but  sharks  aren't  logic,  nor  don't  understand  it 
neither." 

Frank. — Nay  but,  my  recalcitrant  Jack,  my  stiff-necked  Jack,  is 
it  the  part  of  a  man  to  howl  like  a  pig  in  a  gate,  because  he  thinks 
that  is  there  which  is  not  there  ? 

Jack  had  not  a  word  to  say. 

Frank. — And  still  more,  when  if  t^iat  had  been  there,  it  had  been 
the  duty  of  a  brave  man  to  have  kept  his  mouth  shut,  if  only  to 
keep  salt  water  out,  and  not  add  the  evil  of  choking  to  that  of 
being  eaten  ? 

"  Ah  !"  says  Jack,  "  that's  all  very  fine  ;  but  you  know  as  well 
as  I  that  it  was  not  the  Spaniards  I  was  afraid  of.  They  were 
Heaven's  handiwork,  and  I  knew  how  to  deal  with  them  ;  but  as 
for  those  fiends'  spawn  of  sharks,  when  I  saw  that  fellow  take  the 
fish  alongside,  it  upset  me  clean,  and  there's  an  end  of  it  !  ' 

Frank. — Oh,  Jack,  Jack,  behold  how  one  sin  begets  another! 
Just  now  thou  wert  but  a  coward,  and  now  thou  art  a  Mani- 
chee.  For  thou  hast  imputed  to  an  evil  creator  that  which  was 
formed  only  for  a  good  end,  namely,  sharks,  which  were  made  on 
purpose  to  devour  useless  carcasses  like  thine.  Moreover,  as  a 
brother  of  the  Rose,  thou  wert  bound  by  the  vow  of  thy  brother* 
hood  to  have  leaped  joyfully  down  that  shark's  mouth. 


WESTWARD  HO  !  279 

Jack.—ky,  very  likely,  if  Mistress  Rose  had  been  in  his  stomach  ; 
but  I  wanted  to  fight  Spaniards  just  then,  not  to  be  shark-bitten. 

Frank. — Jack,  thy  answer  savors  of  self-will.  If  it  is  ordained 
that  thou  shouldst  advance  the  ends  of  the  Brotherhood  by  being 
shark-bitten,  or  flea  bitten,  or  bitten  by  sharpers,  to  the  detriment  of 
thy  carnal  wealth,  or,  shortly,  to  suffer  any  shame  or  torment  what- 
soever, even  to  strappado  and  scarpines,  thou  art  bound  to  obey 
thy  destiny,  and  not,  after  that  vain  Roman  conceit,  to  choose  the 
manner  of  thine  own  death,  which  is  indeed  only  another  sort  of  self- 
murder.  We  therefore  consider  thee  as  a  cause  of  scandal,  and  a 
rotten  and  creaking  branch,  to  be  excised  by  the  spiritual  arm, 
and  do  hereby  excise  thee,  and  cut  thee  off. 

Jack. — Nay  faith,  that's  a  little  too  much,  Master  Frank.  How 
long  have  you  been  Bishop  of  Exeter  ? 

Frank. — Jack,  thy  wit  being  blinded,  and  full  of  gross  vapors, 
by  reason  of  the  perturbations  of  fear  (which,  like  anger,  is  a  short 
madness,  and  raises  in  the  phantasy  vain  spectres, — videlicet,  of 
sharks  and  Spaniards),  mistakes  our  lucidity.  For  thy  Mani- 
cheeism,  let  his  lordship  of  Exeter  deal  with  it.  For  thy  abomi- 
nable howling  and  caterwauling,  offensive  in  a  chained  cur,  but 
scandalous  in  a  preacher  and  a  brother  of  the  Rose,  we  do  hereby 
deprive  thee  of  thine  office  of  chaplain  to  the  Brotherhood  ;  and 
warn  thee,  that  unless  within  seven  days  thou  do  some  deed  equal 
to  the  Seven  Champions,  or  Ruggiero  and  Orlando's  self,  thou 
shall  be  deprived  of  sword  and  dagger,  and  allowed  henceforth  to 
carry  no  more  iron  about  thee  than  will  serve  to  mend  thy  pen. 

"And  now,  Jack,"  said  Amyas,  "  I  will  give  thee  apiece  of 
news.  No  wonder  that  young  men,  as  the  parsons  complain  so 
loudly,  will  not  listen  to  the  Gospel,  while  it  is  preached  to  them 
by  men  on  whom  they  cannot  but  look  down  ;  a  set  of  soft-handed 
fellows  who  cannot  dig,  and  are  ashamed  to  beg ;  and,  as  my 
brother  has  it,  must  needs  be  parsons  before  they  are  men." 

Frank. — Ay,  and  even  though  we  may  excuse  that  in  Popish 

Eriests  and  friars,  who  are  vowed  not  to  be  men,  and  get  their 
read  shamefully  and  rascally  by  telling  sinners  who  owe  a  hun- 
dred measures  to  sit  down  quickly  and  take  their  bill  and  write 
fifty  :  yet  for  a  priest  of  the  Church  of  England  (whose  business  is 
not  merely  to  smuggle  sinful  souls  up  the  backstairs  into  heaven, 
but  to  make  men  good  Christians  by  making  them  good  men, 
good  gentlemen,  and  good  Englishmen)  to  show  the  white  feather 
in  the  hour  of  need,  is  to  unpreach  in  one  minute  all  that  he  had 
been  preaching  his  life  long. 

"  I  tell  thee,"  says  Amyas,  "  if  I  had  not  taken  thee  for  another 
guess  sort  of  man,  I  had  never  let  thee  have  the  care  of  a  hundred 

ave  lads'  immortal  souls " 

And  so  on,  both  of  them  boarding  him  at  once  with  their  heavy 
shot,  larboard  and  starboard,  till  he  fairly  clapped  his  hands  to  his 
ears  and  ran  for  it,  leaving  poor  Frank  laughing  so  heartily,  that 
Amyas  was  after  all  glad  the  thing  had  happened,  for  the  sake  of 
the  smile  which  L^pul  into  his  sad  and  steadfast  countenance. 


28o  IVESTWARD  HO! 

The  next  day  was  Sunday  ;  on  %vhrch,  after  divine  service  (which 
they  could  hardly  persuade  Jack  to  read,  so  shamefaced  was  he  ; 
and  as  for  preaching  after  it,  he  would  not  hear  of  such  a  thing)' 
Amyas  read  aloud,  according  to  custom,  the  articles  of  their  agree- 
ment;  and  then  seeing  abreast  of  them  a  sloping  beach  with  a 
shoot  of  clear  water  running  into  the  sea,  agreed  that  they  should 
land  there,  wash  the  clothes,  and  again  water  the  ship  ;  for  they 
had  found  water  somewhat  scarce  at  Barbados.  On  this  party 
Jack  Brimblecombe  must  needs  go,  taking  with  him  his  sword 
and  a  great  arquebuse  ;  for  he  had  dreamed  last  night  (he  said) 
that  he  was  set  upon  by  Spaniards,  and  was  sure  that  the  dream 
would  come  true  ;  and  moreover,  that  he  did  not  very  much  care 
if  they  did,  or  if  he  ever  got  back  alive  ;  "  for  it  was  better  to  die 
than  be  made  an  ape,  and  a  scarecrow,  and  laughed  at  by  the 
men,  and  badgered  with  Ramus  his  logic,  and  Plato  his  dialecti- 
cal devilries,  to  confess  himself  a  Manichee,  and,  for  aught  he 
knew,  a  turbaned  Turk,  or  Hebrew  Jew,"  and  so  fiung  into  the 
boat  like  a  man  desperate. 

So  they  went  ashore,  after  Amyas  had  given  strict  commands 
against  letting  off  firearms,  for  fear  of  alarming  the  Spaniards. 
There  they  washed  their  clothes,  and  stretched  their  legs  with  great 
joy,  admiring  the  beauty  of  the  place,  and  then  began  to  shoot  the 
seine  which  they  had  brought  on  shore  with  them.  "  In  which," 
says  the  chronicler,  "we  caught  many  strange  fishes,  and  beside 
them,  a  sea-cow  full  seven  feet  long,  with  limpets  and  barnacles 
on  her  back,  as  if  she  had  been  a  stick  of  drift-timber.  This  is  a 
fond  and  foolish  beast  ;  and  yet  pious  withal  ;  for  finding  a  corpse, 
she  watches  over  it  day  and  night  until  it  decay  or  be  buried. 
The  Indians  call  her  7nanati;  who  carries  her  young  under  her 
arm,  and  gives  it  suck  like  a  woman  :  and  being  wounded,  she 
lamenteth  aloud  with  a  human  voice,  and  is  said  at  certain  seasons 
to  sing  very  melodiously  ;  which  melody,  perhaps,  having  been 
heard  in  those  seas,  is  that  which  Mr.  Frank  reported  to  be  the 
choirs  of  the  Sirens  and  Tritons.  The  which  I  do  not  avouch  for 
truth,  neither  rashly  deny,  having  seen  myself  such  fertility  of 
Nature's  wonders  that  I  hold  him  who  denieth  aught  merely  for 
its  strangeness  to  be  a  ribald  and  an  ignoramus.  Also  one  of  our 
men  brought  in  two  great  black  fowls  which  he  had  shot  with  a 
crossbow,  bodied  and  headed  like  a  capon,  but  bigger  than  any 
eagle,  which  the  Spaniards  call  ciirassos;  which,  with  that  sea- 
cov/,  afterwards  made  us  good  cheer,  both  roast  and  sodden,  for 
the  cow  was  very  dainty  meat,  as  good  as  a  four-month's  calf,  and 
tender  and  fat  withal." 

After  that  they  set  to  work  filling  the  casks  and  barricos,  having 
laid  the  boat  up  to  the  outflow  of  the  rivulet.  And  lucky  for  them 
it  was,  as  it  fell  out,  that  they  were  all  close  together  at  that  work, 
and  not  abroad  skylarking  as  they  had  been  half-an-hour  before. 

Now  John  Brimblecombe  had  gone  apart  as  soon  as  they  landed, 
with  a  shamefaced  and  doleful  countenance  ;  and  sitting  down 
under  a  great  tree,  plucked   a  Bible  from  his   bosom,  and  rea<i 


IVES TIVAI^D  HO!  281 

steadfastly,  g-irded  with  his  great  sword,  and  his  arquebuse  lying 
by  him.  This  too  was  well  for  him,  and  for  the  rest  ;  for  they  had 
not  yet  finished  their  watering,  when  there  was  a  cry  that  the 
enemy  was  on  them  ;  and  out  of  the  wood,  not  twenty  yards  from 
the  good  parson,  came  full  fifty  shot,  with  a  multitude  of  negroes 
behind  them,  and  an  officer  in  front  on  horseback,  with  a  great 
plume  of  feathers  in  his  hat,  and  his  sword  drawn  in  his  hand. 

"  Stand,  foryour  lives  I  "  shouted  Amyas  :  and  only  just  in  time  ; 
for  there  was  ten  good  minutes  lost  in  running  up  and  down  before 
he  could  get  his  men  into  some  order  of  battle.  But  when  Jack 
beheld  the  Spaniards,  as  if  he  had  expected  their  coming,  he 
plucked  a  leaf  and  put  it  into  the  page  of  his  book  for  a  mark, 
laid  the  book  down  soberly,  caught  up  his  arquebuse,  ran  like  a 
mad  dog  right  at  the  Spanish  captain,  shot  him  through  the  body 
stark  dead,  and  then,  flinging  the  arquebuse  at  the  head  of  him 
who  stood  next,  fell  on  with  his  sword  like  a  very  Colbrand,  break- 
ing in  among  the  arquebuses,  and  striking  right  and  left  such  ugly 
strokes,  that  the  Spaniards  (who  thought  him  a  very  fiend,  or 
Luther's  self  come  to  life  to  plague  them)  gave  back  pell-mell,  and 
shot  at  him  five  or  six  at  once  with  their  arquebuses  :  but  whether 
from  fear  of  him,  or  of  wounding  each  other,  made  so  bad  play 
with  their  pieces,  that  he  only  got  one  shrewd  gall  in  his  thigh, 
which  made  him  limp  for  many  a  day.  But  as  fast  as  they  gave 
back  he  came  on  ;  and  the  rest  by  this  time  ran  up  in  good  order, 
and  altogether  nearly  forty  men  well  armed.  On  which  the  Span- 
iards turned,  and  went  as  fast  as  they  had  come,  while  Gary  hinted 
that,  "  The  dogs  had  such  a  taste  of  the  parson,  that  they  had  no 
mind  to  wait  for  the  clerk  and  people." 

"  Come  back.  Jack  !  are  you  mad  ?  "  shouted  Amyas. 

But  Jack  (who  had  not  all  this  time  spoken  one  word)  followed 
them  as  fiercely  as  ever,  till,  reaching  a  great  blow  at  one  of  the 
arquebusiers,  he  caught  his  foot  it  a  root  ;  on  which  down  he 
went,  and  striking  his  head  against  the  ground,  knocked  out  of 
himself  all  the  breath  he  had  left  (which  between  fatness  and  fight- 
ing was  not  much,  and  so  lay.  Amyas,  seeing  the  Spaniards 
gone,  did  not  care  to  pursue  them  :  but  picked  up  Jack,  who,  star- 
ing about,  cried,  "  Glory  be  !  glory  be  1 — How  many  have  I  killed  ? 
How  many  have  I  killed  ?  " 

"  Nineteen,  at  the  least,"  quoth  Gary,  "  and  seven  with  one  back 
stroke  ;  "  and  then  showed  Brimblecombe  the  captain  lying  dead, 
and  two  arquebusiers,  one  of  which  was  the  fugitive  by  whom  he 
came  to  his  fall,  beside  three  or  four  more  who  were  limping  away 
wounded,  some  of  them  by  their  fellows'  shot. 

"There  !  "  said  Jack,  pausing  and  blowing,  "will  you  laugh  at 
me  any  more,  Mr.  Gary  ;  on^say  that  I  cannot  fight,  because  I  am 
a  poor  parson's  son  ?  " 

Gary  took  him  by  the  hand,  and  asked  pardon  of  him  for  his 
scoffing,  saying  that  he  had  that  day  played  the  best  man  of  all  of 
them  ;  and  Jack,  who  never  bor«  malice,  began  laughing  in  his 
turn,  and — 


282  WESTWARD  HO! 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Cary,  we  have  all  known  your  pleasant  ways,  evd 
since  you  used  to  put  drumble-drones  into  my  desk  to  Bideford 
school."  And  so  they  went  to  the  boats,  and  pulled  off,  thanking 
God  (as  they  had  need  to  do)  for  their  great  deliverance  :  while 
all  the  boats'  crew  rejoiced  over  Jack,  who  after  a  while  grew  very 
faint  (having  bled  a  good  deal  without  knowing  it),  and  made  as 
little  of  his  real  wound  as  he  made  much  the  day  before  of  his 
imaginary  one. 

Frank  asked  him  that  evening  how  he  came  to  show  so  cool  and 
approved  a  valor  in  so  sudden  a  mishap. 

"  Well,  my  masters,"  said  Jack,  "I  don't  deny  that  I  was  very 
downcast  on  account  of  what  you  said,  and  the  scandal  which  I 
had  given  to  the  crew  ;  but  as  it  happened,  I  was  reading  there 
under  the  tree,  to  fortify  my  spirits,  the  history  of  the  ancient 
worthies,  in  St.  Paul  his  eleventh  chapter  to  the  Hebrews  :  and 
just  as  I  came  to  that,  'out  of  weakness  were  made  strong,  waxed 
valiant  in  fight,  turned  to  flight  the  armies  of  the  aliens,'  arose  the 
Qvy  of  the  Spaniards.  At  which,  gentlemen,  thinking  in  myself 
that  I  fought  in  just  so  good  a  cause  as  they,  and,  as  I  hop»d,  with 
like  faith,  there  came  upon  me  so  strange  an  assurance  of  victory, 
that  I  verily  believed  in  myself  that  if  there  had  been  a  ten  thou- 
sand of  them,  I  should  have  taken  no  hurt.  Wherefore,"  said 
Jack  modestly,  "there  is  no  credit  due  to  me,  for  there  was  no 
valor  in  me  whatsoever,  but  only  a  certainty  of  safety ;  and  any 
coward  would  fight  if  he  knew  that  he  were  to  have  all  the  killing 
and  none  of  the  scratches." 

Which  words  he  next  day,  being  Sunday,  repeated  in  his  sermon 
which  he  made  on  that  chapter,  with  which  all  even  Salvation  Yeo 
himself,  were  well  content  and  edified,  and  allowed  him  to  be  as 
godly  a  preacher  as  he  was  (in  spite  of  his  simple  ways)  a  valiant 
and  true-hearted  comrade. 

They  brought  away  the  Spanish  officer's  sword  (a  very  good 
blade),  and  also  a  great  chain  of  gold  which  he  wore  about  his 
neck  ;  both  of  which  were  allotted  to  Brimblecombe  as  his  fair 
prize  ;  but  he,  accepting  the  sword,  steadfastly  refused  the  chain, 
entreating  Amyas  to  put  it  into  the  common  stock  ;  and  when 
Amyas  refused,  he  cut  it  into  links  and  distributed  it  among  those 
of  the  boat's  crew  who  had  succored  him,  winning  thereby  much 
good-will.  "  And  indeed"  (says  the  chronicler),  "  I  never  saw  in 
that  worthy  man,  from  the  first  day  of  our  school-fellowship  till  he 
was  laid  in  his  parish  church  of  Hartland  (where  he  now  sleeps 
in  peace),  any  touch  of  that  sin  of  covetousness  which  has  in  all 
ages,  and  in  ours  no  less  than  others,  beset  especially  (I  know  not 
why)  them  who  minister  about  t(he  sanctuary.  But  this  man, 
though  he  was  ugly  and  lowly  in  person,  and  in  understanding 
simple,  and  of  breeding  but  a  poor  parson's  son,  had  yet  in  him  a 
spirit  so  loving  and  cheerful,  so  lifted  from  base  and  selfish  pur. 
poses  to  the  worship  of  duty,  and  to  a  generosity  rather  knightly 
than  sacerdotal,  that  all  through  his  life  he  seemed  to  think  only 
that  it  was  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,     And  all  thai 


WESTWARD  HO  i 


2b^ 


wealth  which  he  gained  in  the  wars  he  dispersed  among  his  sir-.ters 
and  the  poor  ot  his  parish,  living  unmarried  till  his  death  like  a 
true  lover  and  constant  mourner  (as  shall  be  said  in  place),  and 
leaving  hardly  wherewith  to  bring  his  body  to  the  grave.  At 
whom  if  we  often  laughed  once,  we  should  now  rather  envy  him, 
desiring  to  be  here  what  he  was,  that  v/e  may  be  hereafter  where 
he  is.     Amen." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

WHAT   BEFELL   AT   LA   GUAYRA. 

**  Great  was  the  crying,  the  running  and  riding, 
Which  at  that  season  was  made  in  tlie  place ; 

The  beacons  were  fired,  as  need  then  required, 
To  save  their  great  treasure  they  had  little  space." 

Winning  ofCaUs. 

The  men  would  gladly  have  hawked  awhile  round  Margarita 
and  Cubagua  for  another  pearl  prize.  But  Amyas  having,  as  he 
phrased  it,  "  fleshed  his  dogs,"  was  loth  to  hang  about  the  islands 
after  the  alarm  had  been  given.  They  ran,  therefore,  south-west 
across  the  mouth  of  that  great  bay  which  stretches  from  the  Pen- 
insula of  Paria  to  Cape  Codera,  leaving  on  their  right  hand 
Tortuga,  and  on  their  left  the  meadow-islands  of  the  Piritoos,  two 
long  green  lines  but  a  few  inches  above  thetideless  sea.  Yeo  and 
Drew  knew  every  foot  of  the  way,  and  had  good  reason  to  know 
it;  for  they,  the  first  of  all  English  mariners,  had  tried  to  trade 
along  this  coast  with  Hawkins.  And  now,  right  ahead,  sheer  out 
of  the  sea  from  base  to  peak,  arose  higher  and  higher  the  mighty 
range  of  the  Caraccas  mountains  ;  beside  which  all  hills  which 
most  of  the  crew  had  ever  seen  seemed  petty  mounds.  Frank,  of 
course,  knew  the  Alps  ;  and  Amyas  the  Andes  ;  butCary's  notions 
of  height  were  bounded  by  M'Gillicuddy's  Reeks,  and  Brimble- 
combe's  by  Exmoor  ;  and  the  latter,  to  Cary's  infinite  amusement, 
spent  a  whole  day  holding  on  by  the  rigging,  and  staring  upwards 
with  his  chin  higher  than  his  nose,  till  he  got  a  stiff  neck.  Soon 
the  sea  became  rough  and  chopping,  though  the  breeze  was  fair 
and  gentle  ;  and  ere  they  were  abreast  of  the  Cape,  they  became 
aware  of  that  strong  eastward  current  which,  during  the  winter 
months,  so  often  baffles  the  mariner,  who  wishes  to  go  to  the  west- 
ward. All  night  long  they  struggled  through  the  billows,  with  the 
huge  wall  of  Cape  Codera  a  thousand  feet  above  their  heads  to  the 
left,  and  beyond  it  again,  bank  upon  bank  of  mountain,  bathed  in 
the  yellow  moonlight. 

Morning  showed  them  a  large  ship,  which  had  passed  them 
during  the  night  upon  the  opposite  course,  and  was  now  a  good 


284  WBSTWAJ^D  NO  ! 

ten  miles  to  the  eastward.  Yeo  was  for  going  back  and  taking 
her.  01  the  latter  he  made  a  matter  of  course  ;  and  the  former 
was  easy  enough,  for  the  breeze  blowing  dead  off  the  land,  was  a 
"  soldier's  wind,  there  and  back  again,"  for  either  ship  ;  but  Amyas 
and  Frank  were  both  unwilling. 

"  Why,  Yeo,  you  said  that  one  dky  more  %\'(.iuld  bring  us  to  La. 
Guayra." 

"  All  the  more  reason,  sir,  for  doing  the  Lord's  work  thoroughly, 
when  He  has  brought  us  safely  so  far  on  our  journey." 

"She  can  pass  well  enough,  and  no  loss." 

•'  Ah,  sirs,  sirs,  she  is  delivered  into  your  hands,  and  you  will 
have  to  give  an  account  of  her." 

"  My  good  Yeo,"  said  Frank,  "  I  trust  we  shall  give  good  account 
enough  of  many  a  tall  Spaniard  before  we  return  :  but  you  know 
surely  that  La  Guayra,  and  the  salvation  of  one  whom  we  believe 
dwells  there,  was  our  first  object  in  this  adventure." 

Yeo  shook  his  head  sadly.  "Ah,  sirs,  a  lady  brought  Captain 
Oxenham  to  ruin." 

"  You  do  not  dare  to  compare  her  with  this  one  ?  "  said  Frank 
and  Gary,  both  in  a  breath. 

'•  God  forbid,  gentlemen  :  but  no  adventure  will  prosper,  unless 
there  is  a  single  eye  to  the  Lord's  work  ;  and  that  is,  as  I  take  it, 
to  cripple  the  Spaniard,  and  exalt  her  Majesty  the  queen.  And  I 
had  thought  that  nothing  was  more  dear  than  that  to  Captain 
Leigh's  heart." 

Amyas  stood  somewhat  irresolute.  His  duty  to  the  queen  bade 
him  follow  the  Spanish  vessel :  his  duty  to  his  vow,  to  go  on  to 
La  Guayra.  It  may  seem  a  far-fetched  dilemma.  He  found  it  a 
practical  one  enough. 

However,  the  counsel  of  Frank  prevailed,  and  on  to  La  Guayra 
he  went.  He  half  hoped  that  the  Spaniard  would  see  and  attack 
them.  However,  he  went  on  his  way  to  the  eastward  ;  which  if 
he  had  not  done,  my  story  had  had  a  very  different  ending. 

About  mid-day  a  canoe,  the  first  which  they  had  seen,  came 
staggering  toward  them  under  a  huge  three-cornered  sail.  As  it 
came  near,  they  could  see  two  Indians  on  board, 

"  Metal  floats  in  these  seas,  you  see,"  quoth  Gary.  "  There's  a 
fresh  marvel  for  you,  Frank." 

"  Expound,"  quoth  Frank,  who  was  really  ready  to  swallow  any 
fresh  marvel,  so  many  had  he  sesn  already. 

"  Why,  how  else  would  those  two  bronze  statues  dare  to  go  to 
sea  in  such  a  cockleshell,  eh  ?  Have  I  given  you  the  dor  now, 
master  courtier  ?  " 

"  I  am  long  past  dors,  Will.  But  what  noble  creatures  they 
are  !  and  how  fearlessly  they  are  coming  alongside  !  Can  they 
know  that  we  are  English,  and  the  avengers  of  the  Indians  ?  " 

"  I  suspect  they  just  take  us  for  Spaniards,  and  want  to  sell  their 
cocoa-nuts.     See,  the  canoe  is  laden  with  vegetables." 

"  Hail  them,  Yeo  !  "  said  Amyas.  "  You  talk  the  best  Spanish, 
and  I  want  speech  of  one  of  them." 


WESTWARD  HOt  285 

Yeo  did  so  ;  the  canoe,  without  more  ado,  ran  alongside,  and 
lowered  her  felucca  sail,  while  a  splendid  Indian  scrambled  on 
board  like  a  cat. 

He  was  full  six  feet  high,  and  as  bold  and  graceful  of  bearing 
as  Frank  or  Amyas'^  self.  He  looked  round  for  the  first  moment 
smilingly,  showing  his  white  teeth  ;  but  the  next,  his  countenance 
changed  ;  and  springing  to  the  side,  he  shouted  to  his  comrade  in 
Spanish 

"  Treachery  !  No  Spaniard  !  "  and  would  have  leaped  over- 
board, but  a  dozen  strong  fellows  caught  him  ere  he  could  do  so. 

It  required  some  trouble  to  master  him,  so  strong  was  he,  and 
so  slippery  his  naked  limbs  ;  Amyas,  meanwhile,  alternately  en- 
treated the  men  not  to  hurt  the  Indian,  and  the  Indian  to  be  quiet, 
and  no  harm  should  happen  to  him  ;  and  so,  after  five  minutes* 
confusion,  the  stranger  gave  in  sulkily. 

"  Don't  bind  him  !  Let  him  loose,  and  make  a  ring  round  him. 
Now,  my  man,  there's  a  dollar  for  you." 

The  Indian's  eyes  glistened,  and  he  took  the  coin. 

"  All  I  want  of  you  is,  first,  to  tell  me  what  ships  are  in  La 
Guayra,  and  next,  to  go  thither  on  board  of  me,  and  show  me 
which  is  the  governor's  house,  and  which  the  custom-house." 

The  Indian  laid  the  coin  down  on  the  deck,  and  crossing  him- 
self, looked  Amyas  in  the  face. 

••  No,  Sefior  !  I  am  a  freeman  and  a  cavalier,  a  Christian  Guay- 
queria,  whose  forefathers,  first  of  all  the  Indians,  swore  fealty  to 
the  King  of  Spain,  and  whom  he  calls  to  this  day  in  all  his  proc- 
lamations his  most  faithful,  loyal,  and  noble  Guayquerias.  God 
forbid,  therefore,  that  I  should  tell  aught  to  his  enemies,  who  are 
my  enemies  likewise. 

A  growl  arose  from  those  of  the  men  who  understood  him  ;  and 
more  than  one  hinted  that  a  cord  twined  round  the  head,  or  a 
match  put  between  the  fingers,  would  speedily  extract  the  required 
information. 

"  God  forbid  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  a  brave  and  loyal  man  he  is,  and 
as  such  will  I  treat  him.  Tell  me,  my  brave  fellow,  how  do  you 
know  us  to  be  his  Catholic  Majesty's  enemies  ?  " 

The  Indian,  with  a  shrewd  smile,  pointed  to  a  half-a-dozen  dif- 
ferent objects,  saying  to  each,  "  Not  Spanish." 

"  Well,  and  what  of  that  ?  " 

""None  but  Spaniards  and  free  Guayquerias  have  a  right  to  sail 
these  seas." 

Amyas  laughed. 

"  Thou  art  a  right  valiant  bit  of  copper.  Pick  up  thy  dollar, 
and  go  thy  way  in  peace.  Make  room  for  him,  men.  We  can 
learn  what  we  want  without  his  help." 

The  Indian  paused,  incredulous  and  astonished. 

"  Overboard  with  you  !  "  nuoth  Amyas.  "  Don't  you  know 
when  you  are  well  off  ?  " 

"  Most  illustrious  Sefior,"  began  the  Indian,  in  the  drawling 
sententious  fashion  of  his  race  (when  they  take  the  trouble  to  talk 


2  86  WESTWARD  HO! 

at  all),  **  I  have  been  deceived.  I  heard  that  you  heretics  roasted 
and  ate  all  true  Catholics  (as  we  Guayquerias  are),  and  that  all 
your  padres  had  tails." 

"  Plague  on  you,  sirrah ! "  squealced  Jack  Brimblecombe. 
"  Have  I  a  tail  ?     Look  here  !  " 

"  Quien  sabe  ?  Who  knows  ?  "  quoth  the  Indian  through  his 
nose. 

"  How  do  you  know  we  are  heretics  ?  "  said  Amyas. 

'  Humph  !  But  in  repayment  for  your  kindness,  I  would  warn 
you,  illustrious  Sefior,  not  to  go  on  to  La  Guayra.  There  are 
ships  of  war  there  waiting  for  you  ;  and  moreover,  the  governor 
Don  Guzman  sailed  to  the  eastward  only  yesterday  to  look  for 
you  ;  and  I  wonder  much  that  you  did  not  meet  him." 

"  To  look  for  us  !  On  the  watch  for  us  !  "  said  Gary.  "  Impos- 
sible ;  lies  !  Amyas,  this  is  some  trick  of  the  rascal's  to  frighten 
us  away." 

"  Don  Guzman  came  out  but  yesterday  to  look  for  us  ?  Are  you 
sure  you  spoke  truth  ?  " 

"  As  I  live,  Sefior,  he  and  another  ship,  for  which  I  took  yours." 

Amyas  stamped  upon  the  deck  :  that  then  was  the  ship  which 
they  had  passed  ! 

"  Fool  that  I  was  to  have  been  close  to  my  enemy,  and  let  my 
opportunity  slip  !  If  I  had  but  done  my  duty,  all  would  have  gone 
right !  " 

But  it  was  too  late  to  repine  ;  and  after  all,  the  Indian's  story 
was  likely  enough  to  be  false. 

"  Off  with  you  !  "  said  he  ;  and  the  Indian  bounded  over  the 
side  into  his  canoe,  leaving  the  whole  crew  wondering  at  thestate- 
liness  and  courtesy  of  this  bold  sea-cavalier. 

So  Westward-ho  they  ran,  beneath  the  mighty  northern  wall,  the 
highest  cliff  on  earth,  some  seven  thousand  feet  of  rock  parted 
from  the  sea  by  a  narrow  strip  of  bright  green  lowland.  Here 
and  there  a  patch  of  sugar-cane,  or  a  knot  of  cocoa-nut  trees, 
close  to  the  water's  edge,  reminded  them  that  they  were  in  the 
tropics  ;  but  above,  all  was  savage,  rough,  and  bare  as  an  Alpine 
precipice.  Sometimes  deep  clefts  allowed  the  southern  sun  to 
pour  a  blaze  of  light  down  to  the  sea  marge,  and  gave  glimpses 
far  above  of  strange  and  stately  trees  lining  the  glens,  and  of  a 
veil  of  perpetual  mist  which  shrouded  the  inner  summits  ;  while 
up  and  down,  between  them  and  the  mountain  side,  white  fleecy 
clouds  hung  motionless  in  the  burning  air,  increasing  the  impres- 
sion of  vastness  and  of  solemn  rest,  which  was  already  over- 
powering. 

"  Within  those  mountains,  three  thousand  feet  above  our  heads," 
said  Drew,  the  master,  "  lies  Saint  Yago  de  Leon,  the  great  city 
which  the  Spaniards  founded  fifteen  years  agone." 

"  Is  it  a  rich  place  ?  "  asked  Gary. 

"  Very,  they  say." 

•'  Is  it  a  strong  place  ?  "  asked  Amyas. 

*'  No  forts   to  it   at  all,  they  say.     The  Spaniards  boast,  that 


WESTPVAJ^D  HO  t  jg^ 

Heaven  has  made  such  good  walls  to  it  already,  that  man  need 
make  none." 

"  1  don't  know,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  Lads,  could  you  climb  those 
hills,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  Rather  higher  than  Harty  Point,  sir  :  but  it  depends  pretty 
much  on  what's  behind  them." 

And  now  the  last  point  is  rounded,  and  they  are  full  in  sight  of 
the  spot  in  quest  of  which  they  have  sailed  four  thousand  miles  ot 
sea.  A  low  black  cliff,  crowned  by  a  wall  ;  a  battery  at  either  end. 
Within,  a  few  narrow  streets  of  white  houses,  running  parallel 
with  the  sea,  upon  a  strip  of  flat,  which  seemed  not  two  hundred 
yards  in  breadth  ;  aind  behind,  the  mountain  wall,  covering  the 
whole  in  deepest  shade.  How  that  wall  was  ever  ascended 
to  the  inland  seemed  the  puzzle  ;  but  Drew,  who  had  been  off  the 
place  before,  pointed  out  to  them  a  narrow  path,  which  wound 
upwards  through  a  glen,  seemingly  sheer  perpendicular.  That 
was  the  road  to  the  capital,  if  any  man  dare  try  it.  In  spite  of 
the  shadow  of  the  mountain,  the  whole  place  wore  a  dusty  and 
glaring  look.  The  breaths  of  air  which  came  off  the  land  M'ere 
utterly  stifling  ;  and  no  wonder,  for  La  Guayra,  owing  to  the  radia- 
tion of  that  vast  fire-brick  of  heated  rock,  is  one  of  the  hottest 
spots  upon  the  face  of  the  whole  earth. 

Where  was  the  harbor  }  There  was  none.  Only  an  open  road- 
stead, wherein  lay  tossing  at  anchor  five  vessels.  The  two  outer 
ones  were  small  merchant  caravels.  Behind  them  lay  two  long, 
low,  ugly-looking  craft,  at  sight  of  which  Yeo  gave  a  long  wheugh. 

"Galleys,  as  I'm  a  sinful  saint!  And  what  is  that  big  one 
inside  of  them,  Robert  Drew?  She  has  more  than  hawseholes  in 
her  idolatrous  black  sides,  I  think." 

"  We  shall  open  her  astern  of  the  galleys  in  another  minute," 
said  Amyas.     "  Look  out,  Gary,  your  eyes  are  better  than  mine." 

"  Six  round  portholes  on  the  main  deck,"  quoth  Will. 

"  And  I  can  see  the  brass  patararocs  glittering  on  her  poop," 
quoth  Amyas.     "  Well,  we're  in  for  it."     ' 

"  In  for  it  we  are,  captain. 

''  Farewell,  farewell,  my  parents  dear, 
1  never  shall  see  you  more,  I  fcaf." 

Let's  go  in,  nevertheless,  and  pound  the  Don's  ribs,  my  old  lad 
of  Smerwick.     Eh  1     Three  to  one  is  very  fair  odds." 

"  Not  underneath  those  fort  guns,  I  beg  leave  to  say,"  quoth 
Yeo.  "  If  the  Philistines  will  but  come  out  unto  us,  we  Vv'ill  make 
them  like  unto  Zeba  and  Zalmunna." 

"  Quite  true,"  said  Amyas.  "  Game  cocks  are  game  cocks,  but 
reason's  reason." 

"  If  the  Philistines  are  not  coming  out,  they  are  going  to  send 
a  messenger  instead,"  quoth  Gary.     "  Look  out,  all  thin  skulls  !  " 

And  as  he  spoke,  a  puff  of  white  smoke  rolled  from  the  eastern 
fort,  and  a  heavy  ball  plunged  into  the  water  between  it  and  the 
ship. 


j88  WESTWARD  Hot 

"  I  don't  altogether  like  this,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  What  do  they 
mean  by  firing  on  us  without  warning  ?  And  what  are  these 
ships  of  Var  doing  here  ?  Drew,  you  told  me  the  armadas  never 
lay  here." 

"  No  more,  I  believe,  they  do,  sir,  on  account  of  the  anchorage 
being  so  bad,  as  you  may  see.  I'm  mortal  afeared  that  rascal's 
story  was  true,  and  that  the  Dons  have  got  wind  of  our  coming.'* 

"  Run  up  a  white  flag,  at  all  events.  If  they  do  expect  us,  they 
must  have  known  some  time  since,  or  how  could  they  have  got 
their  craft  hither  ?  " 

"  True,  sir.  They  must  have  come  from  Santa  Martha,  at  the 
least  ;  perhaps  from  Carthagena.  And  that  would  take  a  month 
at  least  going  and  coming." 

Amyas  suddenly  recollected  Eustace's  threat  in  the  wayside 
inn.     Could  he  have  betrayed  their  purpose  ?     Impossible  ! 

"  Let  us  hold  a  council  of  war,  at  all  event,  Frank." 

Frank  was  absorbed  in  a  very  different  matter.  A  half-mile  to 
the  eastward  of  the  town,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  up  the  steep 
mountain  side,  stood  a  large,  low,  white  house  embosomed  in 
trees  and  gardens.  There  was  no  other  house  of  similar  size  near  ; 
no  place  for  one.  And  was  not  that  the  royal  flag  of  Spain  which 
flaunted  before  it  .''  That  must  be  the  governor's  house  ;  that 
must  be  the  abode  of  the  Rose  of  Torridge  !  And  Frank  stood 
devouring  it  with  wild  eyes,  till  he  had  persuaded  himself  that  he 
could  see  a  woman's  figure  walking  upon  the  terrace  in  front,  and 
that  the  figure  was  none  other  than  hers  whom  he  sought.  Amyas 
could  hardly  tear  him  away  to  a  council  of  war,  which  was  a  sad, 
and  only  not  a  peevish  one. 

The  three  adventurers,  with  Brimblecombe,  Yeo,  and  Drew, 
went  apart  upon  the  poop  ;  and  each  looked  the  other  in  the  face 
awhile.  For  what  was  to  be  done  ?  The  plans  and  hopes  of 
months  were  brought  to  nought  in  an  hour. 

"  It  is  impossible,  you  see,"  said  Amyas  at  last,  "  to  surprise 
the  town  by  land,  while  these  ships  are  here  ;  for  if  we  land  our 
men,  we  leave  our  ship  without  defence." 

"  As  impossible  as  to  challenge  Don  Guzman  while  he  is  not 
here,"  said  Gary. 

"  I  wonder  why  the  ships  have  not  opened  on  us  already,'* 
said  Drev.'. 

"  Perhaps  they  respect  our  flag  of  truce,"  t.aid  Gary.  "  Why 
not  send  in  a  boat  to  treat  with  them,  and  to  inquire  for " 

"  For  her  ?  "  interrupted  Frank.  "  If  we  show  that  we  are 
aware  of  her  existence,  her  name  is  blasted  in  the  eyes  of  those 
jealous  Spaniards." 

"  And  as  for  respecting  our  flag  of  truce,  gentlemen,"  said  Yeo, 
"  ifyou  will  take  an  old  man's  advice,  trust  them  not.  They  will 
keep  the  same  faith  with  us  as  they  kept  with  Gaptain  Hawkins 
at  San  Juan  d'Ulloa,  in  that  accursed  business  which  was  the  be- 
ginning of  all  the  wars  ;  when  we  might  have  taken  the  whole 
Plate-fleet,  with  two  hundred  thousand  pounds'  worth  of  gold  on 


WESTWARD  HO!  289 

board,  and  did  not,  but  only  asked  license  to  trade  like  honest 
men.  And  yet,  after  they  had  granted  us  license,  and  deceived 
us  by  lair  speech  into  landing  ourselves  and  our  ordnance,  the 
governor  and  all  the  fleet  set  upon  us,  five  to  one,  and  gave  no 
quarter  to  any  soul  whom  he  took.  No,  sir  ;  I  expect  the  only 
reason  why  they  don't  attack  us  is,  because  their  crews  are  not 
on  board." 

"  They  will  be,  soon  enough,  then,"  said  Amyas.  "  I  can  see 
soldiers  coming  down  the  landing-stairs." 

And,  in  fact,  boats  full  of  armed  men  began  to  push  off  to  the 
snips. 

"  We  may  thank  Heaven,"  said  Drew,  "  that  v/e  were  not  here 
two  hours  agone.  The  sun  will  be  down  before  they  are  ready 
for  sea,  and  the  fellows  will  have  no  stomach  to  go  looking  for  us 
by  night." 

"  So  much  the  worse  for  us.  If  they  will  but  do  that,  we  may 
give  them  the  slip,  and  back  again  to  the  town,  and  there  try  our 
luck  ;  for  I  cannot  find  it  in  my  heart  to  leave  the  place  without 
having  one  dash  at  it." 

Yeo  shook  his  head.  "  Inhere  are  plenty  more  towns  along  the 
coast  more  worth  trying  than  this,  sir  :  but  Heaven's  will  be 
done  !  " 

And  as  they  spoke,  the  sun  plunged  into  the  sea,  and  all  was 
dark. 

At  last  it  was  agreed  to  anchor,  and  wait  till  midnight.  If  the 
ships  of  war  came  out,  they  were  to  try  to  run  in  past  them,  and, 
desperate  as  the  attempt  might  be,  attempt  their  original  plan  of 
landing  to  the  w^estward  of  the  town,  taking  it  in  flank,  plunder- 
ing the  government  storehouses,  which  they  saw  close  to  the  land- 
ing-place and  then  fighting  their  way  back  to  their  boats,  and  out 
of  the  roadstead.  Two  hours  would  sufBce  if  the  armada  and 
the  galleys  were  but  once  out  of  the  way. 

Amyas  went  forward,  called  the  men  together,  and  told  them 
the  plan.  It  was  not  very  cheerfully  received  :  but  what  else  was 
there  to  be  done  ! 

They  ran  down  about  a  mile  and  a  half  to  the  westward,  and 
anchored. 

The  night  wore  on,  and  there  was  no  sign  of  stir  among  the 
shipping  •  for  though  they  could  not  see  the  vessels  themselves, 
yet  their  lights  (easily  distinguished  by  their  relative  height  from 
those  in  the  town  above)  remained  motionless  ;  and  the  men 
iretted  and  fumed  for  weary  hours  at  thus  seeing  a  rich  prize  (for 
of  course  the  town  was  paved  with  gold)  within  arm's  reach,  and 
yet  impossible. 

Let  Amyas  and  his  men  have  patience.  Some  short  five  years 
more,  and  the  great  Armada  will  have  come  and  gone  ;  and  then 
that  avenging  storm,  of  which  they,  like  Oxenham,  Hawkins,  and 
Drake,  are  but  the  avant-couriers,  will  burst  upon  every  Spanish 
port  from  Corunna  to  Cadiz,  from  the  Canaries  to  Havanna,  and 
La  Guayra  and  St.  Yago  de  Leon   will  not  escape  their  share. 


290  WESTWARD  ffO  * 

Captain  Amyas  Preston  and  Captain  Sommers,  the  colonist  of  the 
Bermudas,  or  Sommers'  Islands,  will  land,  with  a  force  tiny 
enough,  though  larger  far  than  Leigh's,  where  Leigh  dare  not  land  ; 
and  taking  the  fort  of  Guayra,  will  find,  as  Leigh  found,  that  their 
coming  has  been  expected, and  that  the  Pass  of  the  Venta,  three  thou- 
sand feet  above,  has  been  fortified  with  huge  barricadoes,  abattis, 
and  cannon,  making  the  capital,  amid  its  ring  of  mountain-walls, 
impregna  ble — to  all  but  Englishmen  or  Zouaves.  For  up  that  seven 
thousand  feet  of  precipice,  which  rises  stair  on  stair'behind  the 
town,  those  fierce  adventurers  will  climb  hand  over  hand,  through 
rain  and  fog,  while  men  lie  down,  and  beg  their  officers  to  kill 
them,  for  no  farther  can  they  go.  Yet  farther  they  will  go,  hew- 
ing a  path  with  their  swords  through  woods  of  wild  plantain,  and 
rhododendron  thickets,  over  (so  it  seems,  however  incredible)  the 
very  saddle  of  the  Silla,  *  down  upon  the  astonished  '•  Mantuanos  " 
of  St.  Jago,  driving  all  before  them  ;  and  having  burnt  the  city  in 
default  of  ransom,  will  return  triumphant  by  the  right  road,  and 
pass  along  the  coast,  the  masters  of  the  deep. 

I  know  not  whether  any  men  still  live  who  count  their  descent 
from  those  two  valiant  captains  ;  but  if  such  there  be,  let  them 
be  sure  that  the  history-  of  the  English  navy  tells  no  more  Titanic 
victory  over  nature  and  man  than  that  now  forgotten  raid  of 
Amyas  Preston  and  his  comrade,  in  the  year  of  grace  1595. 

But  though  a  venture  on  the  town  was  impossible,  yet  there 
was  another  venture  which  Frank  was  unwilling  to  let  slip.  A 
light  which  now  shone  brightly  in  one  of  the  windows  of  the 
governor's  house  was  the  lodestar  to  which  all  his  thoughts  were 
turned  ;  and  as  he  sat  in  the  cabin  with  Amyas,  Cary,  and  Jack, 
he  opened  his  heart  to  them. 

"And  are  we,  then,"  asked  he  mournfully  "to  go  without 
doing  the  very  thing  for  which  we  came  ?  " 

All  were  silent  awhile.     At  last  John  Brimblecombe  spoke. 

"  Show  me  the  way  to  do  it,  Mr.  Frank,  and  I  will  go." 

"  My  dearest  man,"  said  Amyas,  "  what  would  you  have  t  Any 
attempt  to  see  her,  even  if  she  be  here,  would  be  all  but  certain 
death." 

"And  what  if  it  were?  What  if  it  were,  my  brother  Amyas? 
Listen  to  me.  I  have  long  ceased  to  shrink  from  Death  ;  but  till 
I  came  into  these  magic  climes,  I  never  knew  the  beauty  of  his 
face." 

"Of  death  ?"  said  Cary.  "I  should  have  said,  of  life.  God 
forgive  me  !  but  man  might  wish  to  live  forever,  if  he  had  such  a 
world  as  this  wherein  to  live." 

"And  do  you  forget,  Cary,  that  the  more  fair  this  passing  world 
of  time,  by  so  much  the  more  fair  is  that  eternal  world,  whereof 
all  here  is  but  a  shadow  and  a  dream  ;  by  so  much  the  more  fair 
is  He  before  whose  throne  the  four  mystic  beasts,  the  substantial 

*  Humboldt  says  that  there  is  a  path  from  Caravellada  to  St.  Jago,  between  the   peaks, 
Osed  by  smugglers.    This  is   probably  the    "  uuknown  way  of  the  Indians,"  which  PrestOB 


WESTWARD  HO!  29 X 

ideas  of  Nature  and  her  powers,  stand  day  and  night,  crying, 
*  Hoiy,  noly,  holy,  Lord  God  of  hosts,  Thou  hast  made  all  thing*? 
and  for  Thy  pleasure  they  are  and  were  created  !  "  My  friends, 
if  He  be  so  prodigal  of  His  own  glory  as  to  have  decked  these 
lonely  shores,  all  but  unknown  since  the  foundation  of  the  world, 
with  splendors  beyond  all  our  dreams,  what  must  be  the  glory  of 
His  face  itself  1  I  have  done  with  vain  shadows.  It  is  better  to 
depart  and  to  be  with  Him,  where  shall  be  neither  desire  nor 
anger,  self-deception  nor  pretence,  but  the  eternal  fulness  of 
reality  and  truth.  One  thing  I  have  to  do  before  I  die,  for  God 
has  laid  it  on  me.  Let  that  be  done  to-night,  and  then,  fare- 
well !  *'  ^^  ■ 

"  Frank  !  Frank  !  remember  our  mother  ! " 

"  I  do  remember  her.  I  have  talked  over  these  things  with  her 
many  a  time  ;  and  where  I  would  fain  be,  she  would  fain  be  also. 
She  sent  me  out  with  my  virgin  honor,  as  the  Spartan  mother  did 
her  boy  with  the  shield,  saying,  'Come  back  either  with  this,  or 
upon  this  ; '  and  one  or  the  other  I  must  do,  if  I  would  meet  her 
either  in  this  lite  or  in  the  next.  But  in  the  meanwhile  do  not  mis- 
take me  ;  my  life  is  God's,  and  I  promise  not  to  cast  it  away 
rashly." 

"  What  would  you  do,  then  ?  " 

"Go  up  to  that  house,  Amyas,  and  speak  with  her,  if  Heaven 
gives  me  an  opportunity,  as  Heaven,  I  feel  assured,  will  give." 

"  And  do  you  call  that  no  rashness  ?  " 

"  Is  any  duty  rashness  ?  Is  it  rash  to  stand  amid  the  flying  bul- 
lets, if  your  queen  has  sent  you  ?  Is  it  more  rash  to  go  seek  Christ's 
lost  lamb,  if  God  and  your  own  oath  hath  sent  you  1  John  Brim- 
blecombe  answered  that  question  for  us  long  ago." 

"  If  you  go,  I  go  with  you  1  "  said  all  three  at  once. 

"  No.  Amyas,  you  owe  a  duty  to  our  mother,  and  to  your  ship. 
Cary,  you  are  heir  to  great  estates  ;  and  are  bound  thereby  to 
your  country  and  to  your  tenants.     John  Brimblecombe " 

"  Ay  ! "  squeaked  Jack.  "  And  what  have  you  to  say,  Mr. 
Frank,  against  my  going? — I,  who  have  neither  ship  nor  estates 
— except,  I  suppose,  that  I  am  not  worthy  to  travel  in  such  good 
company  .? " 

"  Think  of  your  old  parents,  John,  and  all  your  sisters." 

"  I  thought  of  them  before  I  started,  sir,  as  Mr.  Cary  knows,  and 
you  know  too.  I  came  here  to  keep  my  vow,  and  I  am  not  going 
to  turn  renegade  at  the  very  foot  of  the  cross." 

•  Some  one  must  go  with  you,  Frank,"  said  Amyas  ;  "  if  it  were 
only  to  bring  back  the  boat's  crew  in  case "  and  he  faltered. 

"  In  case  I  fall,"  replied  Frank,  with  a  smile.  "  I  will  finish 
your  sentence  for  you,  lad  ;  I  am  not  afraid  of  it,  though  you  may 
be  for  me.  Yet  some  one,  I  fear,  must  go.  Unhappy  me  !  that  I 
cannot  risk  my  own  worthless  life  without  risking  your  more 
precious  lives." 

"  Not  so,  Mr.  Frank  !  Your  oath  is  our  oath,  and  your  duty 
ours  ! "  said  John.     "  I  will  tell  you  what  we  will  do,  gentlemen 


292 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


Jill.     We  three  will  draw  cuts  for  the  honor  of  goin^  with  him.* 

"  Lots  ?  "  said  Amyas,  •'  I  don't  like  leaving  such  grave  matters 
to  chance,  friend  John." 

"  Chance,  sir  ?  When  you  have  used  all  your  own  wit,  and  find 
H  fail  you,  then  what  is  drawing  lots  but  taking  the  matter  out  of 
j-our  own  weak  hands,  and  laying  it  in  God's  strong  hands  .?  " 

"  Right,  John  !  "  said  Frank.  "  So  did  the  apostles  choose  their 
iuccessor,  and  so  did  holy  men  of  old  decide  controversies  too 
subtle  for  them  ;  and  we  will  not  be  ashamed  to  follow  their  ex- 
ample. For  my  part,  I  have  often  said  to  Sidney  and  to  Spenser, 
when  we  have  babbled  together  of  Utopian  governments  in  days 
which  are  now  dreams  to  me,  that  I  would  have  all  officers  of 
state  chosen  by  lot  out  of  the  wisest  and  most  fit ;  so  making  sure 
that  they  should  be  called  by  God,  and  not  by  man  alone.  Gentle- 
men, do  you  agree  to  Sir  John's  advice  ?  " 

They  agreed,  seeing  no  better  counsel,  and  John  put  three  slips 
of  paper  into  Frank's  hand,  wdth  the  simple  old  apostolic  prayer 
— "  Show  which  of  us  three  Thou  hast  chosen." 

The  lot  fell  upon  Amyas  Leigh. 

Frank  shuddered,  and  clasped  his  hands  over  his  face. 

"Well,"  said  Gary,  "  I  have  ill-luck  to-night :  but  Frank  goes  at 
least  in  good  company." 

"  Ah,  that  it  had  been  I !  "  said  Jack  ;  '*  though  I  suppose  I  was 
too  poor  a  body  to  have  such  an  honor  fall  on  me.  And  yet  it 
is  hard  for  flesh  and  blood  ;  hard  indeed  to  have  come  all  this 
way,  and  not  to  see  her  after  all  !  " 

"  Jack,"  said  Frank,  "  you  are  kept  to  do  better  work  tha-n  this, 
doubt  not.  But  if  the  lot  had  fallen  on  you — ay,  if  it  had  fallen  on 
a  three  years'  child,  I  would  have  gone  up  as  cheerfully  with  that 
child  to  lead  me,  as  I  do  now  with  this  my  brother  !  Amyas,  can 
we  have  a  boat,  and  a  crew  ?     It  is  near  midnight  already." 

Amyas  went  on  deck,  and  asked  for  six  volunteers.  Whosoever 
would  come,  Amyas  would  double  out  ot  his  own  purse  any  prize 
money  which  might  fall  to  that  man's  share. 

One  of  the  old  Pelican's  crew,  Simon  Evans  of  Clovelly,  stepped 
out  at  once. 

"  Why  six  only,  captain  ?  Give  the  word,  and  any  and  all  of  us 
will  go  up  with  you,  sack  the  house,  and  bring  off  the  treasure 
and  the  lady,  before  two  hours  are  out." 

"  No,  no,  my  brave  lads  !  As  for  treasure,  if  there  be  any,  it 
IS  sure  to  have  been  put  all  safe  into  the  forts,  or  hidden  in  the 
mountains  ;  and  as  for  the  lady,  God  forbid  that  we  should  force 
her  a  step  without  her  own  will." 

Tne  honest  sailor  did  not  quite  understand  this  punctilio ; 
but-^ 

•'  Well,  captain,"  quoth  he,  "  as  you  like  ;  but  no  man  shall  say 
that  you  asked  for  a  volunteer,  were  it  to  jump  down  a  shark's 
throat,  but  what  you  had  me  first  of  all  the  crew." 

After  this  sort  of  temper  had  been  exhibited,  three  or  four  more 


IVESTIVARD  I/O  !  295 

came  forward — ^Yeo  was  very  anxious  to  go,  but  Amyas  forbade 
him. 

"I'll  volunteer,  sir,  without  reward,  for  this  or  anything; 
though  ••  (added  he  in  a  lower  tone)  '•  I  would  to  Heaven  that  the 
thought  had  never  entered  your  head." 

"  And  so  would  I  have  volunteered,"  said  Simon  Evans,  "  if  it 
were  the  ship's  quarrel,  or  the  queen's  ;  but  being  it's  a  private 
matter  of  the  captain's  and  I've  a  wife  and  children  at  home,  why 
1  take  no  shame  to  myself  for  asking  money  for  my  life." 

So  the  crew  was  made  up ;  but  ere  they  pushed  off,  Amyas 
called  Cary  aside — 

"  If  I  perish,  Will " 

"  Don't  talk  of  such  things,  dear  old  lad." 

"  I  must.  Then  you  are  captain.  Do  nothing  without  Yeo  aod 
Drew.  But  if  they  approve,  go  right  north  away  for  San  Domingo 
and  Cuba,  and  try  the  ports  ;  they  can  have  no  news  of  us  there, 
and  there  is  booty  without  end.  Tell  my  mother  that  I  died  like 
a  gentleman  ;  and  mind— mind,  dear  lad,  to  keep  your  temper 
with  the  men,  let  the  poor  fellows  grumble  as  they  may.  Mind 
but  that,  and  fear  God,  and  all  will  go  well." 

The  tears  were  glistening  in  Gary's  eyes  as  he  pressed  Amyas's 
hand,  and  watched  the  two  brothers  down  over  the  side  upon  their 
desperate  errand. 

They  reached  the  pebble  beach.  There  seemed  no  difficulty 
about  finding  the  path  to  the  house— so  brio-ht  was  the  moon,  and 
so  careful  a  survey  of  the  place  had  Frank  taken.  Leaving  the 
men  with  the  boat  (Amyas  had  taken  care  that  they  should  be 
well  armed),  they  started  up  the  beach,  with  their  swords  only. 
Frank  assured  Amyas  that  they  would  find  a  path  leading  from 
the  beach  up  to  the  house,  and  he  was  not  mistaken.  They  found 
it  easily,  for  it  was  made  of  white  shell  sand  ;  and  following  it 
struck  into  a  "  tunal,"  or  belt  of  tall  thorny  cactuses.  Through 
this  the  path  wound  in  zigzags  up  a  steep  rocky  slope,  and  ended 
at  a  wicket-gate.     They  tried  it,  and  found  it  open. 

"  She  may  expect  us,"  whispered  Frank. 

"  Impossible  ! " 

"Why  not  ?  She  must  have  seen  our  ship  ;  and  if,  as  seems, 
the  townsfolk  know  who  we  are,  how  much  more  must  she  !  Yes, 
doubt  it  not,  she  still  longs  to  hear  news  of  her  own  land,  and 
some  secret  sympathy  will  draw  her  down  towards  the  sea  to- 
night.    See  !  the  light  is  in  the  window  still  !  " 

"  But  if  not,"  said  Amyas,  who  had  no  such  expectations, 
"what  is  your  plan  ?  " 

"  I  have  none." 

"  None  ?  " 

"  I  have  imagined  twenty  different  ones  in  the  last  hour  ;  but 
all  are  equally  uncertain,  impossible,  I  have  ceased  to  struggle — 
I  go  where  I  am  called,  love's  willing  victim.  If  Heaven  accept 
the  sacrifice,  it  will  provide  the  altar  and  the  knife." 

^myas  was  at  his  wits'  end.     Judging  of  his  brother  by  himself. 


^94 


WESl'lVARD  HO  I 


he  had  taken  for  granted  that  Frank  had  some  well-concocted 
scheme  for  gaining  admittance  to  the  Rose  ;  and  as  the  wiles 
of  love  were  altogether  out  of  his  province,  he  had  followed 
in  full  faith  such  a  sans-appel  as  he  held  Frank  to  be.  But 
now  he  almost  doubted  of  his  brother's  sanity,  though  Frank's 
manner  was  perfectly  collected  and  his  voice  firm.  Amyas, 
honest  fellow,  had  no  understanding  of  that  intense  devotion, 
which  so  many  in  those  days  (not  content  with  looking  on  it  as  a 
lofty  virtue,  and  yet  one  to  be  duly  kept  in  its  place  by  other 
duties),  prided  themselves  on  pampering  into  the  most  fantastic 
and  self-willed  excesses. 

Beautiful  folly  !  the  death-song  of  which  two  great  geniuses  were 
composing  at  that  very  moment,  each  according  to  his  light. 
For,  while  Spenser  was  embalming  in  immortal  verse  all  that  it 
contained  of  noble  and  Christian  elements,  Cervantes  sat,  perhaps, 
in  his  dungeon,  writing  with  his  left  hand  Don  Quixote,  saddest 
of  books  in  spite  of  all  its  wit  ;  the  story  of  a  pure  and  noble  soul, 
who  mistakes  this  actual  life  for  that  ideal  one  which  he  fancies 
(and  not  so  wrongly  either)  eternal  in  the  heavens  :  and  finding 
instead  of  a  battlefield  for  heroes  in  God's  cause,  nothing  but 
frivolity,  heartlessness,  and  godlessness,  becomes  a  laughing-stock, 
— and  dies.  One  of  the  saddest  books,  I  say  again,  which  man 
can  read. 

Amyas  hardly  dared  trust  himself  to  speak,  for  fear  of  saying 
too  much  ;  but  he  could  not  help  saying — 

"  You  are  going  to  certain  death,  Frank." 

"  Did  I  not  entreat,"  answered  he  very  quietly,  "  to  go  alone  ?  " 

Amyas  had  half  a  mind  to  compel  him  to  return  :  but  he  feared 
Frank's  obstinacy  ;  and  feared,  too,  the  shame  of  returning  on 
board  without  having  done  anything  ;  so  they  went  up  through 
the  wicket-gate,  along  a  smooth  turf  walk,  into  what  seemed  a 
pleasure-garden,  formed  by  the  hand  of  man,  or  rather  of  woman. 
For  by  the  light,  not  only  of  the  moon,  but  of  the  innumerable 
fire-flies,  which  flitted  to  and  fro  across  the  sward  like  fiery  imps 
sent  to  light  the  brothers  on  their  way,  they  could  see  that  the 
bushes  on  either  side,  and  the  trees  above  their  heads,  were  decked 
with  flowers  of  such  strangeness  and  beauty,  that,  as  Frank  once 
said  of  Barbados,  "  even  the  gardens  of  Wilton  were  a  desert  in 
comparison."  All  around  were  orange  and  lemon  trees  (probably 
the  only  addition  which  man  had  made  to  Nature's  prodigality), 
the  fruit  of  which,  in  that  strange  colored  light  of  the  fire-flies, 
flashed  in  their  eyes  like  balls  of  burnished  gold  and  emerald  ; 
while  great  white  tassels  swinging  from  every  tree  in  the  breeze 
which  swept  down  the  glade,  tossed  in  their  faces  a  fragrant  snow 
of  blossoms,  and  glittering  drops  of  perfumed  dew. 

"  What  a  paradise  !  "  said  Amyas  to  Frank,  "  with  the  serpent 
in  it,  as  of  old,     Look  !  " 

And  as  he  spoke,  there  dropped  s\owlv  down  from  a  bough, 
rig'.it  before  them,  what  seemed  a  living  cnain  of  gold,  ruby,  and 
sapphire.     Both  stopped,  and  another  glance  showed  the  smali 


TVESTIVARD  HOt 


295 


head  and  bright  eyes  of  a  snake,  hissing  and  glaring  full  in  their 
laces. 

"  See  !  "  said  Frank.  "  And  he  comes,  as  of  old,  in  the  like- 
ness of  an  angel  of  light.  Do  not  strike  it.  There  are  worse 
devils  to  be  fought  with  to-night  than  that  poor  beast."  And  step- 
ping aside,  they  passed  the  snake  safely,  and  arrived  in  front  of 
the  house. 

It  was,  as  I  have  said,  a  long  low  house,  with  balconies  along 
the  upper  story,  and  the  under  part  mostly  open  to  the  wind.  The 
light  was  still  burning  in  the  window. 

"  Whither  now?  "  said  Amyas,  in  a  tone  of  desperate  resigna- 
tion. 

"  Thither  !  Where  else  on  earth  ?  "  and  Frank  pointed  to  the 
light,  trembling  from  head  to  foot,  and  pushed  on. 

"  For  Heaven's  sake  !     Look  at  the  negroes  on  the  barbecu  !  " 

It  was  indeed  time  to  stop  ;  for  on  the  barbecu,  or  terrace  of 
white  plaster,  which  ran  all  round  the  front,  lay  sleeping  full  twenty 
black  figures. 

"  What  will  you  do  now  ?  You  must  step  over  them  to  gain  an 
entrance. 

"  Wait  here,  and  I  will  go  up  gently  towards  the  window.  She 
may  see  me.  She  will  see  me  as  I  step  into  the  moonlight.  At 
least  I  know  an  air  by  which  she  will  recognize  me,  it  I  do  but 
hum  a  stave." 

"  Why,  you  do  not  even  know  that  that  light  is  hers  ! — Down, 
for  your  life  !  " 

And  Amyas  dragged  him  down  into  the  bushes  on  his  left  hand  ; 
for  one  of  the  negroes,  wakening  suddenly  with  a  cry,  had  sat  up, 
and  began  crossing  himself  four  or  five  times,  in  fear  of  "  Duppy," 
and  mumbling  various  charms,  aves,  or  what  not. 

The  light  above  was  extinguished  instantly. 

"  Did  you  see  her  t  "  whispered  Frank. 

"No." 

"I  did — the  shadow  of  the  face,  and  the  neck  !  Can  I  be  mis- 
taken ?  "  And  then,  covering  his  face  with  his  hands,  he  mur- 
mured to  himself,  "  Misery  !  misery  !  So  near  and  yet  impos- 
sible ! " 

"  Would  it  be  the  less  impossible  were  you  face  to  face  ?  Let 
us  go  back.  We  cannot  go  up  without  detection,  even  if  our  going 
were  of  use.  Come  back,  for  God's  sake,  ere  all  is  lost  !  If  you 
have  seen  her,  as  you  say,  you  know  at  least  that  she  is  alive,  and 
safe  in  his  house  " — 

"  As  his  mistress  ?  or  as  his  wife  ?  Do  I  know  that  yet,  Amyas 
and  can  I  depart  until  I  know  ?  " 

There  was  a  few  minutes'  silence,  and  then  Amyas,  making 
one  last  attempt  to  awaken  Frank  to  the  absurdity  of  the  whole 
thing,  and  to  laugh  him,  if  possible,  out  of  it,  as  argument  had  no 
effect— 

••  My  dear  fellow,  I  am  very  hangrv  and  sleepy  ;  and  this  bush 
is  very  prigkly  ;  and  my  boots  are  tull  of  ants——" 


296  WESl^WARD  no  I 

"So  are  mine. — Look  !  "  and  Frank  caught  Amyas's  arm,  and 
clenched  it  tight. 

For  round  the  farther  corner  of  the  house  a  dark  cloaked  figure 
stole  gently,  turning  a  look  now  and  then  upon  the  sleeping 
negroes,  and  came  on  right  toward  them. 

"  Did  I  not  tell  you  she  would  come  ?"  whispered  Frank,  in  a 
triumphant  tone. 

Amyas  was  auite  bewildered  ;  and  to  his  mind  the  apparition 
seemed  magical,  and  Frank  prophetic ;  for  as  the  figure  came 
nearer,  incredulous  as  he  tried  to  be  there  was  no  denying  that 
the  shape  and  the  walk  were  exactly  those  of  her,  to  find  whom 
they  had  crossed  the  Atlantic.  True,  the  figure  was  somewhat 
taller  ;  but  then,  "she  must  be  grown  since  I  saw  her,"  thought 
Amyas  ;  and  his  heart  for  the  moment  beat  as  fiercely  as  Frank's. 
But  what  was  that  behind  her  ?  Her  shadow  against  the  white 
wall  of  the  house.  Not  so.  Another  figure,  cloaked  likewise, 
but  taller  far,  was  following  on  her  steps.  It  was  a  man's.  They 
could  see  that  he  wore  a  broad  sombrero.  It  could  not  be  Don 
Guzman,  for  he  was  at  sea.  Who  then  ?  Here  was  a  mystery  ; 
perhaps  a  tragedy.  And  both  brothers  held  their  breaths,  while 
Amyas  felt  whether  his  sword  was  loose  in  the  sheath. 

The  Rose  (if  indeed  it  was  she)  was  within  ten  yards  of  them, 
when  she  perceived  that  she  was  followed.  She  gave  a  little 
shriek.  The  cavalier  sprang  forward,  lifted  his  hat  courteously, 
and  joined  her,  bowing  low.  The  moonlight  was  full  upon  his 
face. 

"  It  is  Eustace,  our  cousin  !  How  came  he  here,  in  the  name 
of  all  the  fiends  ?  " 

"  Eustace  !  Then  that  is  she  after  all  !  "  said  Frank,  forgetting 
everythmg  else  in  her. 

And  now  flashed  across  Amyas  all  that  had  passed  between 
him  and  Eustace  in  the  moorland  inn,  and  Parracombe's  story, 
too,  of  the  suspicious  gypsy.  Eustace  had  been  beforehand  with 
them,  and  warned  Don  Guzman  !  All  was  explained  now  :  but 
how  had  he  got  hither  ? 

"  The  devil,  his  master,  sent  him  hither  on  a  broomstick,  I  sup- 
pose :  ^or  what  matter  how  .?  Here  he  is  ;  and  here  we  are,  worse 
luck  !  "     And,  setting  his  teeth,  Amyas  awaited  the  end. 

The  two  came  on,  talking  earnestly,  and  walking  at  a  slow 
pace,  so  that  the  brothers  :  ould  hear  every  word. 

*•  What  shall  we  do  noM  ?  "  said  Frank.  "  We  have  no  right  to 
be  eavesdroppers." 

"  But  we  must  be,  right  or  none."  And  Amyas  held  him  down 
firmlv  by  the  arm. 

"  But  whither  are  you  going,  then,  my  dear  madam  ?  "  they 
heard  Eustace  say  in  a  wheedling  tone,  "Can  you  wonder  if  sucn 
strange  conduct  should  cause  at  least  sorrow'to  your  admirable 
and  faithful  husband  ?  " 

"  Husband  !  "  whispered  Frank  faintly  to  Amvas.  "  Thank 
God,  thank  God  I     I  am  content.     Let  us  go."    - 


WESTWARD  not  39^ 

But  to  ^o  was  impossible  ;  for,  as  fate  would  have  it,  the  two 
had  stopped  just  opposite  them. 

"The   inestimable   Senor   Don    Guzman "   began   Eustace 

again. 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  praising  him  to  me  in  this  fulsome  way, 
sir  ?  Do  you  suppose  that  I  do  not  know  his  virtues  better  than 
you?" 

"If  you  do,  madam  "  (this  was  spoken  in  a  harder  tone),  "it 
were  wise  for  you  to  try  them  less  severely,  than  by  wandering 
down  towards  the  beach  on  the  very  night  that  you  know  his  most 
deadly  enemies  are  lying  in  wait  to  slay  him,  plunder  his  house, 
and  most  probably  to  carry  you  off  from  him." 

"  Carry  me  off  ?     I  will  die  first !  " 

"  Who  can  prove  that  to  him  ?  Appearances  are  at  least 
against  you." 

"  My  love  to  him,  and  his  trust  for  me,  sir  !  " 

"  His  trust  ?  Have  you  forgotten,  madam,  what  passed  last 
week,  and  why  he  sailed  yesterday  .'  " 

The  only  answer  was  a  burst  of  tears.  Eustace  stood  watching 
her  with  a  terrible  eye  ;  but  they  could  see  his  face  writhing  in 
the  moonlight. 

"Oh!"  sobbed  she  at  last.  "And  if  I  have  been  imprudent, 
was  it  not  natural  to  wish  to  look  once  more  upon  an  English 
ship  ?  Are  you  not  English  as  well  as  I  ?  Have  you  no  longing 
recollections  of  the  dear  old  land  at  home  ?  " 

Eustace  was  silent ;  but  his  face  worked  more  fiercely  than 
ever. 

"  How  can  he  ever  know  it  ?  " 

"  Why  should  he  not  know  it  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  "  she  burst  out  passionately,  "  why  not,  indeed,  while 
you  are  here  ?  You,  sir,  the  tempter,  you  the  eavesdropper,  you 
the  sunderer  of  loving  hearts  !  You,  serpent,  who  found  our 
home  a  paradise,  and  see  it  now  a  hell  !  " 

"  Do  you  dare  to  accuse  me  thus,  madam,  without  a  shadow  of 
evidence  }  " 

"  Dare  ?  I  dare  anything,  for  I  know  all  !  I  have  watched  you, 
sir,  and  I  have  borne  with  you  too  long." 

"  Me,  madam,  whose  only  sin  towards  you,  as  you  should  know 
by  now,  is  to  have  loved  you  too  well  ?  Rose  1  Rose  !  have  you 
not  blighted  my  life  for  me — broken  my  heart  ?  And  how  have  I 
repaid  you  ?  How  but  by  sacrificing  myself  to  seek  you  overland 
and  sea,  that  I  might  complete  your  conversion  to  the  bosom  of 
that  Church  where  a  Virgin  Mother  stands  stretching  forth  soft 
arms  to  embrace  her  wandering  daughter,  and  cries  to  you  all 
day  long,  '  Come  unto  me,  ve  that  are  weary  and  heavy  laden,  and 
I  will  give  you  rest  !  '     And  this  is  my  reward  !  " 

"  Depart  with  your  Virgin  Mother,  sir,  and  tempt  me  no  more  ! 
You  have  asked  me  what  I  dare  ;  and  I  dare  this,  upon  my  own 
ground,  and  in  my  own  garden,  I,  Donna  Rosa  de  Soto,  to  bid 
you  leave  this  place  now  and  forever,  after  having  insulted  me  by 


^98  WESTWARD  HO! 

talking  of  your  love,  and  tempted  me  to  give  up  that  faith  which 
my  husband  promised  me  he  would  respect  and  protect.  Go, 
sir  !  " 

The  brothers  listened  breathless  with  surprise  as  much  as  with 
rage.  Love  and  conscience,  and  perhaps,  too,  the  pride  of  her 
lofty  alliance,  had  converted  the  once  gentle  and  dreamy  Rose 
into  a  very  Roxana  ;  but  it  was  only  the  impulse  of  a  moment. 
The  words  had  hardly  passed  her  lips,  when,  terrified  at  what  she 
had  said,  she  burst  into  a  fresh  flood  of  tears  ;  while  Eustace 
answered  calmly, — 

"  I  go,  madam  :  but  how  know  you  that  I  may  not  have  orders, 
and  that,  after  your  last  strange  speech,  my  conscience  may  com- 
pel me  to  obey  those  orders,  to  take  you  with  me  ?  " 

"  Me  ?  with  you  ?  " 

"  My  heart  has  bled  for  you,  madam,  for  many  a  year.  It  longs 
now  that  it  had  bled  itself  to  death,  and  never  known  the  last  worst 
agony  of  telling  you " 

And  drawing  close  to  her  he  whispered  in  her  ear — what,  the 
brothers  heard  not — but  her  answer  was  a  shriek  which  rang 
through  the  woods,  and  sent  the  night-birds  fluttering  up  from 
every  bough  above  their  heads. 

"  By  Heaven  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  I  can  stand  this  no  longer.  Cut 
that  devil's  throat  I  must " 

"  She  is  lost  if  his  dead  body  is  found  by  her." 

"  We  are  lost  if  we  stay  here,  then,  '  said  Amyas  ;  "for  those 
negroes  will  hurry  down  at  her  cry,  and  then  found  we  must  be." 

"  Are  you  mad,  madam,  tu  betray  yourself  by  your  own  cries  ? 
The  negroes  will  be  here  in  a  moment.  I  give  you  one  last  chance 
for  life,  then  :  "  and  Eustace  shouted  in  Spanish  at  the  top  of  his 
voice,  "  Help,  help,  servants  !  Your  mistress  is  being  carried  off 
by  bandits  1  " 

"  What  do  you  mean,  sir  ?  " 

"  Let  your  woman's  wit  supply  the  rest :  and  forget  not  him  who 
thus  saves  you  from  disgrace." 

Whether  the  brothers  heard  the  last  words  or  not,  I  know  not  ; 
but  taking  for  granted  that  Eustace  had  dis  ~>vered  them,  they 
sprang  to  their  feet  at  once,  determined  to  make  one  last  appeal, 
and  then  to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  they  could. 

Eustace  started  back  at  the  unexpected  apparition  ;  but  a 
second  glance  showed  him  Amyas's  mighty  bulk  ;  and  he  spoke 
calmly — 

"  You  see,  madam,  I  did  not  call  without  need.  Welcome,  good 
cousins.  My  charity  as  you  perceive  has  found  means  to  outstrip 
your  craft ;  while  the  fair  lady,  as  was  but  natural,  has  been  true 
to  her  assignation  !  " 

"Liar  !  "  cried  Frank.     "  She  never  knew  of  our  being " 

"  Credat  Judaeus  !  "  answered  Eustace  :  but,  as  he  spoke, 
Amvas  burst  through  the  bushes  at  him.  There  was  no  time  to 
be  fost ;  and  ere  the  giant  could  disentangle  himself  from  the 
boughs  and  shrubs,  Eustace  had  slipped  off"  his  long  cloak,  thrown 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


199 


ft  over  Amyas's  head,  and  ran  up  the   alley  shouting  for  help. 

Mad  with  rage,  Amyas  gave  chase  :  but  in  two  minutes  more 
Eustace  was  safe  among  the  ranks  of  the  negroes,  who  came 
shouting  and  jabbering  down  the  path. 

He  rushed  back.  Frank  was  just  ending  some  wild  appeal  to 
Rose — 

"Your  conscience  !  your  religion  ! " 

"  No,  never  !  I  can  face  the  chance  of  death,  but  not  the  loss 
of  him.     Go  !  for  God's  sake  leave  me  !  " 

"  You  are  lost,  then, — and  I  have  ruined  you  !  " 

"Come  off,  now  or  never,"  ^ried  Amyas,  clutching  him  by  the 
arm,  and  dragging  him  away  like  a  child. 

"  You  forgive  me  ?  "  cried  he. 

"  Forgive  you  ?  "  and  she  burst  into  tears  again. 

Frank  burst  into  tears  also. 

"  Let  me  go  back,  and  die  with  her — Amyas  ! — my  oath  ! — my 
honor  !  "  and  he  struggled  to  turn  back. 

Amyas  looked  back  too,  and  saw  her  standing  calmly,  with 
her  hands  folded  across  her  breast,  awaiting  Eustace  and  the 
servants  ;  and  he  half  turned  to  go  back  also.  Both  saw  how 
fearfully  appearances  had  put  her  into  Eustace's  power.  Had  he 
not  a  right  to  suspect  that  they  were  there  by  her  appointment  ; 
that  she  was  going  to  escape  with  them  ?  And  would  not  Eustace 
use  his  power  ?  The  thought  of  the  Inquisition  crossed  their 
minds.  "  Was  that  the  threat  which  Eustace  had  whispered  ?  " 
asked  he  of  Frank." 

"  It  was,"  groaned  Frank  in  answer, 

For  the  first  and  last  time  in  his  life,  Amyas  Leigh  stood 
irresolute. 

"  Back,  and  stab  her  to  the  heart  first  ! "  said  Frank,  struggling 
to  escape  from  him. 

Oh,  if  Amyas  were  but  alone,  and  Frank  safe  home  in  Eng- 
land !  To  charge  the  whole  mob,  kill  her,  kill  Eustace,  and  then 
cut  his  way  back  again  to  the  ship,  or  die, — what  matter  ?  as  he 
must  die  some  day, — sword  in  hand  !  But  Frank  ! — and  then 
flashed  before  his  eyes  his  mother's  hopeless  face  ;  then  rang  in 
his  ears  his  mother's  last  bequest  to  him  of  that  frail  treasure. 
Let  Rose,  let  honor,  let  the  whole  world  perish,  he  must  save 
Frank,  See  !  the  negroes  were  up  with  her  now — past  her — away 
for  life  !  and  once  more  he  dragged  his  brother  down  the  hill,  and 
through  the  wicket,  only  just  in  time  ;  for  the  whole  gang  of  negroes 
were  within  ten  yards  of  them  in  full  pursuit. 

"  Frank,"  said  he  sharply,  "  if  you  ever  hope  to  see  your  mother 
again,  rouse  yourself,  man,  and  fight!"  And,  without  waiting 
for  an  answer,  he  turned,  and  charged  up-hill  upon  his  pursuers, 
who  saw  the  long  bright  blade,  and  fled  instantly. 

Again  he  hurried  Frank  down  the  hill  ;  the  path  wound  in  zig- 
zags, and  he  feared  that  the  negroes  would  come  straight  over 
the  cliff,  and  so  cut  off  his  retreat  :  but  the  prickly  cactuses  were 
too  much  for  them,  and  they  were  forced  to  follow  by  the  path. 


300 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


while  the  brothers  (Frank  having  somewhat  regained  his  senses) 
turned  every  now  and  then  to  menace  them  :  but  once  on  the 
rocky  path,  stones  began  to  fly  fast  ;  small  ones  fortunately,  and 
wide  and  wild  for  want  of  light — but  when  they  reached  the  peb- 
ble-beach ?  Both  were  too  proud  to  run  ;  but,  if  ever  Amyas 
prayed  in  his  life,  he  prayed  for  the  last  twenty  yards  before  he 
reached  the  water-mark. 

"  Now,  Frank  !  down  to  the  boat  as  hard  as  you  can  run,  while 
I  keep  the  curs  back." 

"  Amyas  !  what  do  you  take  me  for  ?  My  madness  brought 
you  hither :  your  devotion  shall  not  bring  me  back  without 
you." 

"  Together,  then  !  " 

And  putting  Frank's  arm  through  his,  they  hurried  down,  shout- 
ing to  their  men. 

The  boat  was  not  fifty  yards  ofif ;  but  fast  travelling  over  the 
pebbles  was  impossible,  and  long  ere  half  the  distance  was  crossed, 
the  negroes  were  on  the  beach,  and  the  storm  burst.  A  volley  of 
great  quartz  pebbles  whistled  round  their  heads. 

"  Come  on,  Frank  !  for  life's  sake  !  Men,  to  the  rescue  !  Ah  ! 
what  was  that  ?  " 

The  dull  crash  of  a  pebble  against  Frank's  fair  head  !  Droop- 
ing like  Hyacinthus  beneath  the  blow  of  the  quoit,  he  sank  on 
Amyas's  arm.  The  giant  threw  him  over  his  shoulder,  and  plunged 
blindly  on, — himself  struck  again  and  again. 

"  Fire,  men  !     Give  it  the  black  villains  !  " 

The  arquebusiers  crackled  from  the  boat  in  front.  What  were 
those  dull  thuds  which  answered  from  behind  .''  Echoes  .'*  No. 
Over  his  head  the  caliver-balls  went  screechimg.  The  governor's 
guard  have  turned  out,  followed  them  to  the  beach,  fixed  their 
calivers,  and  are  firing  over  the  negroes'  heads,  as  the  savages 
rush  down  upon  the  hapless  brothers. 

If,  as  all  say,  there  are  moments  which  are  hours,  how  many 
hours  was  Amyas  Leigh  in  reaching  that  boat's  bow  "i  Alas  !  the 
negroes  are  there  as  soon  as  he,  and  the  guard,  having  left  their 
calivers,  are  close  behind  them,  sword  in  hand.  Amyas  is  up  to 
his  knees  in  water — battered  with  stones — blinded  with  blood. 
The  boat  is  swaying  off  and  on  against  the  steep  pebble-bank  :  he 
clutches  at  it — misses — falls  heac.long — rises  half-choked  with 
water:  but  Frank  is  still  in  his  arms.  Another  heavy  1  low — a 
confused  roar  of  shouts,  shots,  curses — a  confused  mass  of  negroe* 
and  English,  foam  and  pebbles — and  he  recollects  no  more. 


He  is  lying  in  the  stern-sheets  of  the  boat  ;  stiff,  weak,  half 
blind  with  blood.  He  looks  up  ;  the  moon  is  still  bright  overhead  : 
but  they  are  away  from  the  shore  now,  for  the  wave-crests  are 
dancing  white  before  the  land-breeze,  high  above  the  boat's  side. 
The  boat  seems  strangely  empty.  Two  men  are  pulling  instead 
of  six  !     And    what  is   this   lying  heavy  across  his  chest  1     He 


WESTWARD  HO  !  301 

pushes,  and  is  answered  by  a  groan.     He  puts  his  hand  down  to 
rise,  and  is  answered  by  another  groan. 
"  What's  this  .?  " 

"  All  that  are  left  of  us,"  says  Simon  Evans  of  Clovelly. 
"  All  ?  "     The  bottom  of  the  boat  seemed  paved  with  human 
bodies.      "  Oh  God  !    oh   God  !  "  moans  Amyas,  trying   to   rise. 
*'  And  where — where  is  Frank  ?     Frank  !  " 

"  Mr.  Frank  !  "  cried  Evans.     There  is  no  answer. 
"  Dead  ?  "  shrieks  Amyas.      "  Look  for  him,   for  God's  sake, 
look  !  "  and  struggling  from   under  his  living  load,  he  peers  mto 
each  pale  and  bleeding  face. 

"  Where  is  he  ?     Why  don't  you  speak  ;  forward  there  ? 
"  Because  we  have  nought  to  say,  sir,"  answered  Evans,  almost 
surlily. 

Frank  was  not  there. 

"  Put  the  boat  about !     To  the  shore  !  "  roars  Amyas.  ^^ 
"  Look  over  the  gunwale,  and  judge  for  yourself,  sir  !  " 
The  waves  are  leaping  fierce  and  high  before  a  furious  land- 
breeze.     Return  is  impossible. 

"Cowards  !  villains  !  traitors  !  hounds  !  to  have  left  him  be- 
hind." ^^  , 

"  Listen  you  to  me.  Captain  Amyas  Leigh,"  says  Simon  Evans, 
resting  on  his  oar  ;  "  and  hang  me  for  mutiny,  if  you  will,  when 
we're  aboard,  if  we  ever  get  there.  Isn't  it  enough  to  bring  us  out 
to  death  (as  you  knew  yourself,  sir,  for  you're  prudent  enough)  to 
please  that  poor  young  gentleman's  fancy  about  a  wench  ;  but  you 
must  call  coward  an  honest  man  that  'have  saved  your  life  this 
night,  and  not  a  one  of  us  but  has  his  wound  to  show  ?  " 
Amyas  was  silent  ;  the  rebuke  was  just. 

"  I  tell  you,  sir,  if  we've  hove  a  stone  out  of  this  boat  since  we 
got  off,  we've  hove  two  hundredweight,  and,  if  the  Lord  had  not 
fought  for  us,  she'd  have  been  beat  to  noggin-staves  there  on  the 
beach." 

"  How  did  I  come  here,  then  ?  " 

"  Tom  Hart  dragged  you  in  out  of  five  feet  water,  and  then 
thrust  the  boat  off,  and  had  his  brains  beat  out  for  reward.  All 
were  knocked  down  but  us  two.  So  help  me  God,  we  thought 
that  you  had  hove  Mr.  Frank  on  board  just  as  you  were  knocked 
down,  and  saw  William  Frost  drag  him  in." 

But  William  Frost  was  lying  senseless  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 
There  was  no  explanation.     After  all,  none  was  needeo. 

"  And  I  have  three  wounds  from  stones,  and  this  man  behind 
me  as  many  more,  beside  a  shot  through  his  shoulder.  Now,  sir, 
be  we  cowards  ? "  ,  •      u 

'■■  You  have  done  your  duty,"  said  Amyas,  and  sank  down  in  the 
boat,  and  cried  as  if  his  heart  would  break  ;  and  then  sprang  up, 
and,  wounded  as  he  was,  took  the  oar  from  Evans's  hands.  With 
weary  work  they  made  the  ship,  but  so  exhausted  that  another  boat 
had  to  be  lowered  to  get  them  alongside. 

The  alarm  being  now  given,  it  was  hardly  safe  to  remain  wheie 


502  WESTWARD  HO! 

they  were  ;  and  after  a  stormy  and  sad  argument,  it  was  agreed  to 
weigh  anchor  and  stand  off  and  on  till  morning  ;  for  Amyas  re- 
fused to  leave  the  spot  till  he  was  compelled,  though  he  had  no 
hope  (how  could  he  have  ?)  that  Frank  might  still  be  alive.  And 
perhaps  it  was  well  for  them,  as  will  appear  in  the  next  chapter, 
that  morning  did  not  find  them  at  anchor  close  to  the  town. 

However  that  may  be,  so  ended  that  fatal  venture  of  mistaken 
chivalry. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

SPANISH   BLOODHOUNDS   AND   ENGLISH   MASTIFFS. 

"  Full  seven  long  hours  in  all  men's  sight 

This  fight  endured  sore, 
Until  our  men  so  feeble  grew, 

That  they  could  fight  no  more. 
And  then  upon  dead  horses 

Full  savorly  they  fed, 
And  drank  the  puddle  water. 

They  could  no  better  geL 

"  When  they  had  fed  so  freely 
They  kneeled  on  the  ground, 
And  gave  God  thanks  devoutly  for 

The  favor  they  had  found  ; 
Then  beating  up  their  colors, 

The  fight  they  did  renew; 
And  turning  to  the  Spaniards, 
A  thousand  more  they  slew." 

The  Brave  Lord  WUhughhy,     1586. 

When  the  sun  leaped  up  the  next  morning,  and  the  tropic  light 
flashed  suddenly  into  the  tropic  day,  Amyas  was  pacing  the  deck, 
with  dishevelled  hair  and  torn  clothes,  his  eyes  red  with  rage  and 
weeping,  his  heart  full — how  can  I  describe  it  ?  Picture  it  to 
yourselves,  picture  it  to  yourselves,  you  who  have  ever  lost  a 
brother  ;  and  you  who  have  not,  thank  God  that  you  know  noth^ 
ing  of  his  agony.  Full  of  impossible  projects,  he  strode  and 
staggered  up  and  down,  as  the  ship  thrashed  close-hauled  through 
the  rolling  seas.  He  would  go  back  and  burn  the  villa.  He  would 
take  Guayra,  and  have  the  life  of  every  man  in  it  in  return  for  his 
brother's.  "  We  can  do  it,  lads  !  "  he  shouted.  "  If  Drake  took 
Nombre  de  Dios,  we  can  take  La  Guayra."  And  every  voice 
shouted,  "  Yes." 

"  We  will  have  it,  Amyas,  and  have  Frank  too,  yet,"  cried  Gary  ; 
but  Amyas  shook  his  head.  He  knew,  and  knew  not  why  he  knew, 
that  all  the  ports  in  New  Spain  would  never  restore  to  him  that  one 
beloved  face. 

"  Yes,  he  shall  be  well  avenged.  And  look  there  !  There  is  the 
first  crop  of  our  vengeance."  And  he  pointed  toward  the  shore, 
where  between  them  and  the  nov/  distant  peaks  of  the  Silla,  three 
sails  appeared,  not  five  miles  to  windward. 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


303 


"There  are  the  Spanish  bloodhounds  on  our  heels,  the  same 
ships  which  we  saw  yesterday  off  Guayra.  Back,  lads,  and  weK 
come  them,  if  there  were  a  dozen." 

There  was  a  murmur  of  applause  from  all  around  ;  and  if  any 
young  heart  sank  for  a  moment  at  the  prospect  of  fighting  three 
ships  at  once,  it  was  awed  into  silence  by  the  cheer  which  rose 
from  all  the  older  men,  and  by  Salvation  Yeo's  stentorian  voice. 

"  If  there  were  a  dozen,  the  Lord  is  with  us,  who  has  said, 
'One  of  you  shall  chase  a  thousand.'  Clear  away,  lads,  and  see 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  this  day." 

"  Amen  !  "  cried  Cary  ;  and  the  ship  was  kept  still  closer  to  the 
wind. 

Amyas  had  revived  at  the  sight  of  battle.  He  no  longer  felt  his 
wounds,  or  his  great  sorrow  ;  even  Frank's  last  angel's  look  grew 
dimmer  every  moment  as  he  bustled  about  the  deck  ;  and  ere  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  had  passed,  his  voice  cried  firmly  and  cheer- 
fully as  of  old — 

"  Now,  my  masters,  let  us  serve  God,  and  then  to  breakfast, 
and  after  that  clear  for  action." 

Jack  Brimblecombe  read  the  daily  prayers,  and  the  prayers 
before  a  fight  at  sea,  and  his  honest  voice  trembled,  as,  in  the 
Prayer  for  all  Conditions  of  Men  (in  spite  of  Amyas's  despair), 
he  added,  "  and  especially  for  our  dear  brother  Mr.  Francis  Leigh, 
perhaps  captive  among  the  idolaters  ;  "  and  so  they  rose. 

"  Now,  then,"  said  Amyas,  "  to  breakfast.  A  Frenchman  fights 
best  fasting,  a  Dutchman  drunk,  an  Englishman  full,  and  a 
Spaniard  when  the  devil  is  in  him,  and  that's  always." 

"  And  good  beef  and  the  good  cause  are  a  match  for  the  devil," 
said  Cary.     "  Come  down,  captain  ;  you  must  cat  too," 

Amyas  shook  his  head,  took  the  tiller  fro  n  the  steersman,  and 
bade  him  go  below  and  fill  himself.  Will  Cary  went  down,  and 
returned  in  five  minutes,  with  a  plate  of  bread  and  beef,  and  a 
great  jack  of  ale,  coaxed  them  down  Amyas's  throat,  as  a  nurse 
does  with  a  child,  and  then  scuttled  below  again  with  tears  hop- 
ping dov/n  his  face. 

y\myas  stood  still  steering.  His  face  was  grown  seven  years 
older  in  the  last  night.  A  terrible  set  calm  was  on  him.  Woe  to 
the  man  who  came  across  him  that  day  ! 

"  There  are  three  of  them,  you  see,  my  masters,"  said  he,  as 
the  crew  came  on  deck  again.  "  A  big  ship  forward,  and  two 
galleys  astern  of  her.  The  big  ship  may  keep  ;  she  is  a  race  ship, 
and  if  we  can  but  recover  the  wind  of  lier,  we  will  see  whether 
our  height  is  not  a  match  for  her  length.  We  must  give  her  the 
slip,  and  take  the  galleys  first." 

"  I  thank  the  Lord,"  said  Yeo,  "  who  has  given  so  wise  a  heart 
to  so  young  a  general ;  a  very  David  and  Daniel,  saving  his  pres- 
ence, lads  ;  and  if  any  dare  not  follow  him,  let  him  be  as  the  men 
of  Meroz  and  of  Succoth.  Amen  !  Silas  Stavely,  smite  me  that 
boy  over  the  head,  the  young  monkey ;  why  is  he  not  down  at  the 
powder-room  door  ?  " 


304  WESTWARD  HO! 

And  Yeo  went  about  his  gunnery,  as  one  who  knew  how  to  da 
it,  and  had  the  most  terrible  mind  to  do  it  thoroughly,  and  the 
most  terrible  faith  that  it  was  God's  work. 

So  all  fell  to  ;  and  though  there  was  comparatively  little  to  be 
done,  the  ship  having  been  kept  as  far  as  could  be  in  fighting 
order  all  night,  yet  there  was  "  clearing  of  decks,  lacing  of  net- 
tings, making  of  bulwarks,  fitting  of  waist-cloths,  arming  of  tops, 
tallowing  of  pikes,  slinging  of  yards,  doubling  of  sheets  and 
tacks,"  enough  to  satisfy  even  the  pedantical  soul  of  Richard 
Hawkins  himself.  Amyas  took  charge  of  the  poop,  Gary  of  the 
forecastle,  and  Yeo,  as  gunner,  of  the  main-deck,  while  Drew,  as 
master,  settled  himself  in  the  waist  ;  and  all  was  ready,  and  more 
than  ready,  before  the  great  ship  was  within  two  miles  of  them. 

And  now,  while  the  mastiifs  of  England  and  the  blood-hounds 
of  Spain  are  nearing  and  nearing  over  the  rolling  surges,  thirsting 
for  each  other's  blood,  let  us  spend  a  few  minutes  at  least  in  look- 
ing at  them  both,  and  considering  the  causes  which  in  those  days 
enabled  the  English  to  face  and  conquer  armaments  immensely 
superior  in  size  and  number  of  ships,  and  to  boast,  that  in  the 
whole  Spanish  war,  but  one  queen's  ship,  the  Revenge,  and  (if^I 
recollect  right)  but  one  private  man-of-war.  Sir  Richard  Hawkins's 
Dainty,  had  ever  struck  their  colors  to  the  enemy. 

What  was  it  which  enabled  Sir  Richard  Grenvile's  Revenge,  in 
his  last  fearful  fight  off  the  Azores,  to  endure,  for  twelve  hours 
before  she  struck,  the  attack  of  eight  Spanish  armadas,  of  which 
two  (three  times  her  own  burdenj  sank  at  her  side  ;  and  after  all 
her  masts  were  gone,  and  she  had  been  boarded  three  times  with- 
out success,  to  defy  to  the  last  the  whole  tieet  of  fifty-four  sail, 
which  lay  around  her,  waiting  for  her  to  sink,  "  like  dogs  around 
the  dying  forest  king  ?  "  ,    ,    ,- 

What  enabled  young  Richard  Hawkins's  Damty,  though  half 
her  guns  were  useless  through  the  carelessness  or  treachery  of  the 
gunner,  to  maintain  for  three  days  a  running  fight  with  two 
Spaniards  of  equal  size  with  her,  double  the  weight  of  metal,  and 
ten  times  the  number  of  men  ? 

What  enabled  Sir  George  Gary's  illustrious  ship,  the  Content, 
to  fight  single-handed,  from  seven  in  the  morning  till  eleven  at 
night,  with  four  great  armadas  and  two  galleys,  though  her 
heaviest  gun  was  but  one  nine-pounder,  and  for  many  hours  she 
had  but  thirteen  men  fit  for  service  ? 

What  enabled,  in  the  very  year  of  which  I  write,  those  two 
"  valiant  Turkey  Merchantmen  of  London,  the  Merchant  Royal  and 
the  Tobie,"  with  their  three  small  consorts,  to  cripple,  off  Pantel- 
laria  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  whole  fleet  of  Spanish  galleys  sent 
to  intercept  them,  and  return  triumphant  through  the  Straits  of 
Gibraltar  ? 

And  lastly,  what  in  the  fight  of  1588,  whereof  more  hereafter, 
enabled  the  English  fleet  to  capture,  destroy,  and  scatter  that 
Great  Armada,  with  the  loss  (but  not  the  capture)  of  one  pmnacc 
and  one  gentleman  of  note  ? 


WESTWARD  HO!  305 

There  were  more  causes  than  one  :  the  first  seems  to  have  lain 
in  the  build  of  the  English  ships  ;  the  second  in  their  superior 
gunnery  and  weight  of  metal  ;  the  third  (without  which  the  first 
would  have  been  useless)  in  the  hearts  of  the  English  men. 

The  English  ship  was  much  shorter  than  the  Spanish  ;  and 
this  (with  the  rig  of  those  days)  gave  them  an  ease  in  manoeuvring, 
which  utterly  confounded  their  Spanish  foes.  "  The  English  ships 
in  the  fight  of  1588,"  says  Camden,  "charged  the  enemy  with 
marvellous  agility,  and  having  discharged  their  broadsides,  flew 
forth  presently  into  the  deep,  and  levelled  their  shot  directly,  with- 
out missing,  at  those  great  ships  of  the  Spaniards,  vyhich  were 
altogether  heavy  and  unwieldy."  Moreover,  the  Spanish  fashion, 
in  the  West  Indies  at  least,  though  not  in  the  ships  of  the  Great 
Armada,  was,  for  the  sake  of  carrying  merchandise,  to  build  their 
men-of-war  flush-decked,  or  as  it  was  called  "  race  "  (raz^s),  which 
left  those  on  deck  exposed  and  open  ;  while  the  English  fashion 
was  to  heighten  the  ship  as  much  as  possible  at  stem  and  stern, 
both  by  the  sweep  of  her  lines,  and  also  by  stockades  ("close 
fights  and  cage-works  ")  on  the  poop  and  forecastle,  thus  giving 
to  the  men  a  shelter,  which  was  further  increased  by  strong  bulk- 
heads ("  cobridgeheads  ")  across  the  main-deck  below,  dividing 
the  ship  thus  into  a  number  of  separate  forts,  fitted  with  swivels 
("  bases,  fowlers,  and  murderers  ")  and  loopholed  for  musketry 
and  arrows. 

But  the  great  source  of  superiority  was,  after  all,  in  the  men 
themselves.  The  English  sailor  was  then,  as  now,  a  quite  am- 
phibious and  all-cunning  animal,  capable  of  turning  his  hand  to 
everything,  from  needlework  and  carpentry  to  gunnery  or  hand- 
to-hand  blows  ;  and  he  was,  moreover,  one  of  a  nation,  every 
citizen  of  which  was  not  merely  permitted  to  carry  arms,  but  com- 
pelled by  law  to  practise  from  childhood  the  use  of  the  bow,  and 
accustomed  to  consider  sword-play  and  quarter-stafl"  as  a  necessary 
part  and  parcel  of  education,  and  the  pastime  of  every  leisure  hour. 
The  "  fiercest  nation  upon  earth,"  as  they  were  then  called,  and 
the  freest  also,  each  man  of  them  fought  for  himself  with  the  self- 
help  and  self-respect  of  a  Yankee  ranger,  and  once  bidden  to  do 
his  work,  was  trusted  to  carry  it  out  by  his  own  wit  as  best  he 
could.     In  one  word  he  was  a  free  man. 

The  English  officers,  too,  as  now,  lived  on  terms  of  sympathy 
wilh  their  men  unknown  to  the  Spaniards,  who  raised  between  the 
commander  and  the  commanded  absurd  barriers  of  rank  and 
blood,  which  forbade  to  his  pride  any  labor  but  that  of  fighting. 
The  English  officers,  on  the  other  hand,  brought  up  to  the  same 
athletic  sports,  the  same  martial  exercises,  as  their  men,  were  not 
ashamed  to  care  for  them,  to  win  their  friendship,  even  on  emer- 
gency to  consult  their  judgment ;  and  used  their  rank,  not  to 
differ  from  their  men,  but  to  outvie  them  ;  not  merely  to  com- 
mand and  be  obeyed,  but  like  Homer's  heroes,  or  the  old  Norse 
Vikings,  to  lead  and  be  followed.  Drake  touched  the  true  main- 
spring of  English  success  when  he  once  (in  his  voyage  round 


2o6  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

the  world)  indignantly  rebuked  some  coxcomb  gentlemen-adren* 
turers  with — "  I  should  like  to  sae  the  gentleman  that  will  refuse 
to  set  his  hand  to  a  rope.  I  must  have  the  gentleman  to  hale 
and  draw  with  the  mariners."  But  those  were  days  in  which 
her  Majesty's  service  was  as  little  overridden  by  absurd  rules  of 
seniority,  as  by  that  etiquette  which  is  at  once  the  counterfeit 
and  the  ruin  of  true  discipline.  Under  Elizabeth  and  her  min- 
isters, a  brave  and  a  shrewd  man  was  certain  of  promotion,  let 
his  rank  or  his  age  be  what  they  might ;  the  true  honor  of  knight- 
hood covered  once  and  for  all  any  lowliness  of  birth  ;  and  the 
merchant  service  (in  which  all  the  best  sea-captains,  even  those  of 
noble  blood,  were  more  or  less  engaged)  was  then  a  nursery,  not 
only  for  seamen,  but  for  warriors,  in  days  when  Spanish  and  Por- 
tuguese traders  (whenever  they  had  a  chance)  got  rid  of  English 
competition  by  salvoes  of  cannonshot. 

Hence,  as  I  have  said,  that  strong  fellow-feeling  between  officers 
and  men  ;  and  hence  mutinies  (as  Sir  Richard  Hawkins  tells  us) 
were  all  but  unknown  in  the  English  ships,  while  in  the  Spanish 
they  broke  out  on  every  slight  occasion.  For  the  Spaniard,  by  some 
suicidal  pedantry,  had  allowed  their  navy  to  be  crippled  by  the 
same  despotism,  etiquette,  and  official  routine,  by  which  the  whole 
nation  was  gradually  frozen  to  death  in  the  course  of  next  century 
or  two  ;  forgetting  that,  fifty  years  before,  Cortez,  Pizarro,  and  the 
early  Conquistadores  of  America  had  achieved  their  miraculous 
triumphs  on  the  exactly  opposite  method  ;  by  that  ver>'  fellow 
feeling  between  commander  and  commanded  by  which  the  Eng- 
lish were  now  conquering  them  in  their  turn. 

Their  navy  was  organized  on  a  plan  complete  enough  ;  but  on 
one  which  was,  as  the  event  proved,  utterly  fatal  to  their  prowess 
and  unanimity,  and  which  made  even  their  courage  and  honor 
useless  against  the  assaults  of  free  men.  "  They  do,  in  their 
armadas  at  sea,  divide  themselves  into  three  bodies  ;  to  wit,  sol- 
diers, mariners,  and  gunners.  The  soldiers  and  officers  watch  and 
ward  as  if  on  shore  ;  and  this  is  the  only  duty  they  undergo,  ex- 
cept cleaning  their  arms,  wherein  they  are  not  over  curious.  The 
gunners  are  exempted  from  all  labor  and  care,  except  about  the 
artillery  ;  and  these  are  either  Almaines,  Flemings,  or  strangers  ; 
for  the  Spaniards  are  but  indifferently  practised  in  this  art.  The 
mariners  are  but  as  slaves  to  the  rest,  to  moil  and  to  toil  day  and 
night  ;  and  those  but  few  and  bad,  and  not  suffered  to  sleep  or 
harbor  under  the  decks.  For  in  fair  or  foul  weather,  in  storms, 
sun,  or  rain,  they  must  pass  void  of  covert  or  succor." 

This  is  the  account  of  one  who  was  long  prisoner  on  board  their 
ships  ;  let  it  explain  itself,  while  I  return  to  my  tale.  For  the 
great  ship  is  now  within  two  musket-shots  of  the  Rose,  with  the 
golden  fiag  of  Spain  floating  at  her  poop  ;  and  her  trumpets  arc 
shouting  defiance  up  the  breeze,  from  a  dozen  brazen  throats^ 
which  two  or  three  answer  lustily  from  the  Rose,  from  whose  poop 
flies  the  flag  of  England,  and  from  her  fore  the  arms  of  Leigh  and 


WESTIVARD  HO  ! 


307 


Cary  side  by  side,  and  over  them  the  ship  and  bridge  of  the  good 
town  of  Bideford.     And  then  Amyas  calls — 

"  Now,  silence  trumpets,  waits,  play  up  !  '  Fortune  my  foe  !' 
and  God  and  the  Queen  be  with  us  ! " 

Whereon  (laugh  not,  reader,  for  it  was  the  fashion  of  those 
musical,  as  well  as  valiant  days)  up  rose  that  noble  old  favorite  of 
good  Queen  Bess,  from  cornet  and  sackbut,  fife  and  drum  ;  while 
Parson  Jack,  who  had  taken  his  stand  with  the  musicians  on  the 
poop,  worked  away  lustily  at  his  violin,  and  like  Volker  of  the 
Nibelungen  Lied. 

"Well  played.  Jack;  thy  elbow  flies  like  a  lamb's  tail,"  said 
Amyas,  forcing  a  jest. 

"  It  shall  fly  to  a  better  fiddle-bow  presently,  sir,  and  I  have  the 
luck " 

"  Steady,  helm  !  "  said  Amyas.     "  What  is  he  after  now  ?  " 

The  Spaniard,  who  had  been  coming  upon  them  right  down  the 
wind  under  a  press  of  sail,  took  in  his  light  canvas. 

"  He  don't  know  what  to  make  of  our  waiting  for  him  so  bold,** 
said  the  helmsman. 

"  He  does  though,  and  means  to  fight  us,"  cried  another.  *'  See, 
he  is  hauling  up  the  foot  of  his  mainsail  :  but  he  wants  to  keep  the 
wind  of  us." 

"  Let  him  try,  then,"  quoth  Amyas.  "  Keep  her  closer  still. 
Let  no  one  fire  till  we  are  about.  Man  the  starboard  guns  :  to 
starboard,  and  wait,  all  small  arm  men.  Pass  the  order  down  to 
the  gunner,  and  bid  all  fire  high,  and  take  the  rigging." 

Bang  went  one  of  the  Spaniard's  bow  guns,  and  the  shot  went 
wide.  Then  another  and  another,  while  the  men  fidgeted  about, 
looking  at  the  priming  of  their  muskets,  and  loosened  their  arrows 
in  the  sheaf. 

"Lie  down,  men,  and  sing  a  psalm.  When  I  want  you,  I'll  call 
you.  Closer  still,  if  you  can,  helmsman,  and  we  will  try  a  short 
ship  against  a  long  one.  We  can  sail  two  points  nearer  the  wind 
than  he." 

As  Amyas  had  calculated,  the  Spaniard  would  gladly  enough 
have  stood  across  the  Rose's  bows,  but  knowing  the  English  read- 
iness, dare  not  for  fear  of  being  raked  ;  so  her  only  plan,  if  she 
did  not  intend  to  shoot  past  her  foe  down  to  leeward,  was  to  put 
her  head  close  to  the  wind,  and  wait  for  her  on  the  same  tack. 

Amyas  laughed  to  himself.  "  Hold  on  yet  awhile.  More  ways 
of  killing  a  cat  than  choking  her  with  cream.  Drew,  there,  are 
your  men  readv  ?  " 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir"!  "  and  on  they  went,  closing  fast  with  the  Span- 
iard, till  within  a  pistol-shot. 

"  Ready  about  !  "  and  about  she  went  like  an  eel,  and  ran  upon 
the  opposite  tack  right  under  the  Spaniard's  stern.  The  Spaniard, 
astounded  at  the  quickness  of  the  manoeuvre,  hesitatea  a  mo- 
ment, and  then  tried  to  get  about  also,  as  his  only  chance  ;  but  it 
was  too  late,  and  while  his  lumbering  length  was  still  hanging  in 
the  wind's  eye,  Amyas's  bowsprit  had  all  hut  scraped  his  quarter, 


3o8  WESTWARD  HO! 

and  the  Rose  passed  slowly  across  his  stern  at  ten  yards' distance. 

"  Now,  then  !  "  roared  Amyas.  "  Fire,  and  with  a  will  !  Have 
at  her,  archers  :  have  at  her,  muskets  all  !  "  and  in  an  instant  a 
storm  of  bar  and  chain-shot,  round  and  canister,  swept  the  proud 
Don  from  stem  to  stern,  while  through  the  white  cloud  of  smoke 
the  musket-balls,  and  the  still  deadlier  cloth-yard  arrows,  whistled 
and  rushed  upon  their  venomous  errand.  Down  went  the  steers- 
man, and  every  soul  who  manned  the  poop.  Down  went  the 
mizzen  topmast,  in  went  the  stern-windows  and  quarter-galleries  ; 
and  as  the  smoke  cleared  away,  the  gorgeous  painting  of  the 
Madre  Dolorosa,  with  her  heart  full  of  seven  swords,  which  in  a  gild- 
ed frame,  bedizened  the  Spanish  stern,  was  shivered  in  splinters; 
while,  most  glorious  of  all,  the  golden  flag  of  Spain,  which  the  last 
moment  flaunted  above  their  heads,  hung  trailing  in  the  water. 
The  ship,  her  tiller  shot  away,  and  her  helmsmen  killed,  staggered 
helplessly  a  moment,  and  then  fell  up  into  the  wind. 

"Well  done,  men  of  Devon  !  "  shouted  Amyas,  as  cheers  rent 
the  welkin. 

"She  has  struck,"  cried  some,  as  the  deafening  hurrahs  died 
away. 

"  Not  a  bit,"  said  Amyas.  "  Hold  on,  helmsman,  and  leave  her 
to  patch  her  tackle  while  we  settle  the  galleys." 

On  they  shot  merrily,  and  long  ere  the  armada  could  get  herself 
to  rights  again,  were  two  good  miles  to  windward,  with  the  gal- 
leys sweeping  down  fast  upon  them. 

And  two  venomous-looking  craft  they  were,  as  they  shot  through 
the  short  chopping  sea  upon  some  forty  oars  apiece,  stretching  their 
long  sword-fish  snouts  over  the  water,  as  if  snuffing  for  their  prey. 
Behind  their  long  snout,  a  strong  square  forecastle  was  crammed 
with  soldiers,  and  the  muzzles  of  cannon  grinned  out  through 
port-holes,  not  only  in  the  sides  of  the  forecastle,  but  forward  in 
the  line  of  the  galley's  course,  thus  enabling  her  to  keep  up  a  con- 
tinual fire  on  a  ship  right  ahead. 

The  long  low  waist  was  packed  full  of  the  slaves,  some  five  or  six 
to  each  oar,  and  down  the  centre,  between  the  two  banks,  the  English 
could  see  the  slave-drivers  walking  up  and  down  a  long  gangway, 
whip  in  hand.  A  raised  quarter-deck  at  the  stern  held  more 
soldiers,  the  sunlight  flashing  merrily  upon  their  armor  and  their 
gun-barrels  ;  as  they  neared,  the  English  could  hear  plainly  the 
cracks  of  the  whips,  and  the  yells  as  of  wild  beasts  which  answered 
them  ;  the  roll  and  rattle  of  the  oars,  and  the  loud  "  Ha  !  "  of  the 
slaves  which  accompanied  every  stroke,  and  the  oaths  and  curses 
of  the  drivers  ;  while  a  sickening  musky  smell,  as  of  a  pack  of 
kennelled  hounds,  came  down  the  wind  from  off  those  dens  of 
misery.  No  wonder  if  many  a  young  heart  shuddered  as  it  faced, 
for  the  first  time,  the  horrible  reality  of  those  floating  hells,  the 
cruelties  whereof  had  rung  so  often  in  English  ears,  from  the  stories 
of  their  own  countrymen,  who  had  passed  them,  fought  them,  and 
now  and  then  passed  years  of  misery  on  board  of  them.     Who 


WESTWARD  HO  / 


309 


knew  but  what  there  might  be  English  among  those  sun-browned 
half-naked  masses  of  panting  wretches  ? 

"  Must  we  fire  upon  the  slaves  ?  "  asked  more  than  one,  as  the 
thought  crossed  him. 

Amyas  sighed. 

"Spare  them  all  you  can,  in  God's  name  :  hut  if  they  try  to  run 
us  down,  rake  them  we  must,  and  God  forgive  us." 

The  two  galleys  came  on  abreast  of  each  other,  some  forty  yards 
apart.  To  outmanoeuvre  their  oars  as  he  had  done  the  ship's 
sails,  Amyas  knew  was  impossible.  To  run  from  them,  was  to  be 
caught  between  them  and  the  ship. 

He  made  up  his  mind,  as  usual,  to  do  the  desperate  game. 

"  Lay  her  head  up  in  the  wind,  helmsman,  and  we  will  wait  for 
them." 

They  were  now  within  musket-shot,  and  opened  fire  from  their 
bow-guns  ;  but,  owing  to  the  chopping  sea,  their  aim  was  wild. 
Amyas,  as  usual,  withheld  his  fire. 

The  men  stood  at  quarters  with  compressed  lips,  not  knowing 
what  was  to  come  next.  Amyas,  towering  motionless  on  the  quarter- 
deck, gave  his  orders  calmly  and  decisively.  The  men  saw  that 
he  trusted  himself,  and  trusted  him  accordingly. 

The  Spaniards,  seeing  him  wait  for  them,  gave  a  shout  of  joy — 
was  the  Englishman  mad  ?  And  the  two  galleys  converged 
rapidly,  intending  to  strike  him  full,  one  on  each  bow. 

They  were  within  forty  yards — another  minute,  and  the  shock 
would  come.  The  Englishman's  helm  went  up,  his  yards  creaked 
round,  and  gathering  way,  he  plunged  upon  the  larboard  galley. 

"  A  dozen  gold  nobles  to  him  who  brings  down  the  Steersman  !  " 
shouted  Gary,  who  had  his  cue. 

And  a  flight  of  arrows  from  the  forecastle  rattled  upon  the 
galley's  quarter-deck. 

Hit  or  not  hit,  the  steersman  lost  his  nerve,  and  shrank  from  the 
coming  shock.  The  galley's  helm  went  up  to  port,  and  her  beak 
slid  all. but  harmless  along  Amyas's  bow  ;  a  long  dull  grind,  and 
then  loud  crack  on  crack,  as  the  Rose  sawed  slowly  through  the 
bank  of  oars  from  stem  to  stern,  hurling  the  wretched  slaves  in 
heaps  upon  each  other  ;  and  ere  her  mate  on  the  other  side  could 
swing  round,  to  strike  him  in  his  new  position,  Amyas's  whole 
broadside,  great  and  small,  had  been  poured  into  her  at  pistol-shot, 
answered  by  a  yell  which  rent  their  ears  and  hearts. 

"Spare  the  slaves  !  Fire  at  the  soldiers!"  cried  Amyas;  but 
the  work  was  too  hot  for  much  discrimination  ;  for  the  larboard 
galley,  crippled  but  not  undaunted,  swung  round  across  his  stern, 
and  hooked  herself  venomously  on  to  him. 

It  was  a  move  more  brave  than  wise  ;  for  it  prevented  the  other 
galley  from  returning  to  the  attack  without  exposing  herself  a 
second  time  to  the  English  broadside  ;  and  a  desperate  attempt  of 
the  Spaniards  to  board  at  once  through  the  sternports,  and  up  the 
quarter  was  met  with  such  a  demurrer  of  shot  and  steel,  that  they 
found  themselves  in  three  minutes  again  upon  the  galley's  poop. 


3 1  o  WESTWARD  HO  / 

accompanied,   to   their    intense  disgust,   by   Amyas   Leigh    and 
twenty  English  swords. 

Plve  minutes'  hard  cutting,  hand  to  hand,  and  the  poop  was 
clear.  The  soldiers  in  the  forecastle  had  been  able  to  give  them 
no  assistance,  open  as  they  lay  to  the  arrows  and  musketry  from 
the  Rose's  lofty  stern.  Amyas  rushed  along  the  central  gangway, 
shouting  in  Spanish,  "  Freedom  to  the  slaves  !  death  to  the  mas- 
ters !  "  clambered  into  the  forecastle,  followed  close  by  his  swarm 
of  wasps,  and  set  them  so  good  an  example  how  to  use  their  stings, 
that  in  three  minutes  more  there  was  not  a  Spaniard  on  board 
who  was  not  dead  or  dying. 

"  Let  the  slaves  free  !  "  shouted  he.  "  Throw  us  a  hammer 
down,  men.     Hark  !  there's  an  English  voice  !  " 

There  is  indeed.  From  amid  the  wreck  of  broken  oars  and 
writhing  limbs,  a  voice  is  shrieking  in  broadest  Devon  to  the 
master  who  is  looking  over  the  side. 

*'  Oh,  Robert  Drew  !  Robert  Drew  !  Come  down,  and  take  me 
out  of  hell  !" 

"  Who  be  you,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  !  " 

"  Don't  you  mind  William  Prust,  that  Captain  Hawkins  left  be- 
hind in  the  Honduras,  years  and  years  agone  ?  There's  nine  of 
us  aboard,  if  your  shot  hasn't  put  'em  out  of  their  misery.  Come 
down,  if  you've  a  Christian  heart,  come  down  !  " 

Utterly  forgetful  of  all  discipline,  Drew  leaps  down  hammer  in 
hand,  and  the  two  old  comrades  rush  into  each  other's  arms. 

Why  make  a  long  story  of  what  took  but  five  minutes  to  do  ? 
The  nine  men  (luckily  none  of  them  wounded)  are  freed,  and 
helped  on  board,  to  be  hugged  and  kissed  by  old  comrades  and 
young  kinsmen  ;  while  the  remaining  slaves,  furnished  with  a 
couple  of  hammers,  are  told  to  free  themselves  and  help  the  Eng- 
lish. The  wretches  answer  by  a  shout  ;  and  Amyas,  once  more 
safe  on  board  again,  dashes  after  the  other  galley,  which  has 
been  hovering  out  of  reach  ,of  his  guns  ;  but  there  is  no  need  to 
trouble  himself  about  her  ;  sickened  with  what  she  has  got,  she  is 
struggling  right  up  wind,  leaning  over  to  one  side,  and  seemingly 
ready  to  sink. 

"  Are  there  any  English  on  board  of  her?  "asks  Amyas,  loth 
to  lose  the  chance  of  freeing  a  countryman. 

"  Never  a  one,  sir,  thank  God." 

So  they  set  to  work  to  repair  damages  ;  while  the  liberated 
slaves,  having  shifted  some  of  the  galley's  oars,  pull  away  after 
their  comrade  ;  and  that  with  such  a  will,  that  in  ten  minutes 
they  have  caught  her  up,  and  careless  of  the  Spaniard's  fire, 
boarded  her  en  masse,  with  yells  as  of  a  thousand  wolves.  There 
will  be  fearful  vengeance  taken  on  those  tyrants,  unless  they  play 
the  man  this  day. 

And  in  the  meanwhile  half  the  crew  are  clothing,  feeding,  ques-" 
tioning,  caressing  those  nine  poor  fellows  thus  snatched  from  liv-i 
ing  death  :  and  Yeo,  hearing  the  news,  has  rushed  up  on  deck  16 
vrelcome  his  old  comrades,  and — 


WES  TWA  KB  HO!  ^li 

'*  Is  Michael  Heard,  my  cousin,  here  among  you  ?  '" 

Yes,  Michael  Heard  is  there,  white-headed  rather  from  misery 
than  age  ;  and  the  embracings  and  questionings  begin  afresh. 

"  Where  is  my  wife,  Salvation  Yeo  ?  " 

"  With  the  Lord." 

"  Amen  !  "  says  the  old  man,  with  a  short  shudder. 

"  I  thought  so  much  ;  and  my  two  boys  ?  " 

"With  the  Lord." 

The  old  man  catches  Yeo  by  the  arm. 

"  How,  then  ?  "     It  is  Yeo's  turn  to  shudder  now. 

"  Killed  in  Panama,  fighting  the  Spaniards  ;  sailing  with  Mr. 
Oxenham  ;  and  'twas  I  led  'em  into  it.  May  God  and  you  forgive 
mc  ! " 

"They   couldn't   die    better,    cousin   Yeo.       Where's   my  girl 

Grace  "i  " 

'•  Died  in  childbed." 

"  Any  childer  1  " 

"No." 

The  old  man  covers  his  face  with  his  hands  for  a  while. 

"Well,  I've  been  alone  with  the  Lord  these  fifteen  years,  so^I 
must  not  whine  at  being  alone  a  while  longer — 't  won't  be  long." 

"  Put  this  coat  on  yor.r  back,  uncle,"  says  some  one. 

"  No  ;  no  coats  for  me.  Naked  came  I  into  the  world,  and 
naked  I  go  out  of  it  this  day,  if  I  have  a  chance.  You'm  better  to 
go  to  your  work,  lads,  or  the  big  one  will  have  the  wind  of  you 
yet." 

"  So  she  will,"  said  Amyas,  who  has  overheard  ;  but  so  great  is 
the  curiosity  on  all  hands,  that  he  has  some  trouble  in  getting  the 
men  to  quarters  again  ;  indeed,  they  only  go  on  condition  of  part- 
ing among  themselves  with  them  the  new-comers,  each  to  tell  his 
sad  and  strange  story.  How  after  Captain  Hawkins,  constrained 
by  famine,  had  put  them  ashore,  they  wandered  in  misery  till  the 
Spaniards  took  them  ;  how,  instead  of  hanging  them  (as  they  at 
first  intended),  the  Dons  fed  and  clothed  them,  and  allotted  them 
as  servants  to  various  gentlemen  about  Mexico,  where  they  throve, 
turned  their  hands  (like  true  sailors)  to  all  manner  of  trades,  and 
made  much  money,  and  some  of  them  were  married,  even  to 
women  of  wealth  ;  so  that  all  went  well,  until  the  fatal  year  1574. 
when,  "much  against  the  minds  of  many  of  the  Spaniards  them- 
selves, that  cruel  and  bloody  Inquisition  was  established  for  the 
first  time  in  the  Indies  ;  "  and  how,  from  that  moment  their  lives 
were  one  long  tragedy  ;  how  they  were  all  imprisoned  for  a  year 
and  a  half,  not  for  proselytizing,  but  simply  for  not  believing  m 
transubstantiation  ;  racked  again  and  again,  and  at  last  adjudgec 
to  receive  publicly,  on  Good  Friday,  1575.  some  three  hundred, 
someone  hundred  stripes,  and  to  serve  in  the  galleys  for  six  or 
ten  years  each  ;  while,  as  the  crowning  atrocity  of  the  Moloch 
sacrifice,  three  of  them  were  burnt  alive  in  the  market-place  of 
Mexico  •'  a  story  no  less  hideous  than  true,  the  details  whereot 
whoso  list  may  read  in  Hakluyt's  third  volume,  as  told  by  Philip 


*i2  WESTWARD  HO t 

Miles,  one  of  that  hapless  crew  ;  as  well  as  the  adventi'rcs  <  Jcti 
Hortop,  a  messmate  of  his,  who,  after  being  sent  to  Spain,  and 
seeing  two  more  of  his  companions  burnt  alive  at  Seville,  was 
sentenced  to  row  in  the  galleys  ten  years,  and  after  that  to  go  to 
the  "  everlasting  prison  remediless  ;  "  from  which  doom,  after 
twenty-three  years  of  slavery,  he  was  delivered  by  the  galleoa 
Dudley,  and  came  safely  home  to  Redriff 

The' fate  of  Hortop  and  his  comrades  was,  of  course,  still  un- 
known to  the  rescued  men  ;  but  the  history  even  of  their  party 
was  not  likely  to  improve  the  good  feeling  of  the  crew  toward  the 
Spanish  ship  which  was  two  miles  to  leeward  of  them,  and  which 
must  De  fought  with,  or  fled  from,  before  a  quarter  of  an  hour 
was  past.  So,  kneeling  down  upon  the  deck,  as  many  a  brave 
crew  in  those  days  did  in  like  case,  they  "gave  God  thanks  de- 
voutly for  the  favor  they  had  found  ;  "  and  then  with  one  accord, 
at  lack's  leading,  sang  one  and  all  the  ninety-fourth  Psalm  :  * 

Oh,  Lord,  thou  dost  revenge  all  wrong  ; 
Vengeance  belongs  to  thee,"  etc. 

And  then  again  to  quarters  ;  for  half  the  day's  work,  or  more 
than  half,  still  remained  to  be  done  ;  and  hardly  were  the  decks 
cleared  afresh,  and  the  damage  repaired  as  best  it  could  be,  when 
she  came  ranging  up  to  leeward,  as  closehauled  as  she  could. 

She  was,  as  I  said,  a  long  flush-decked  ship  of  full  five  hundred 
tons,  more  than  double  the  size,  in  fact,  of  the  Rose,  though  not 
so  lofty  in  proportion  ;  and  many  a  bold  heart  beat  loud,  and  no 
shame  to  them,  as  she  began  firing  away  merrily,  determined,  as 
all  well  knew,  to  wipe  out  in  English  blood  the  disgrace  of  her 
late  foil. 

"  Never  mind,  my  merry  masters,"  said  Amyas,  "  she  has 
quantity  and  we  quality." 

"That's  true,"  said  one,  "for  one  honest  man  is  worth  two 
rogues." 

"  And  one  culverin  three  of  their  footy  little  ordnance,"  said 
another.     "  So  when  you  will,  captain,  and  have  at  her." 

"  Let  her  come  abreast  of  us,  and  don't  burn  powder.  We 
have  the  wind,  and  can  do  what  we  like  with  her.  Serve  the  men 
out  a  horn  of  ale  all  round,  steward,  and  all  take  your  time." 

So  they  waited  for  five  minutes  more,  and  then  set  to  work 
quietly,  after  the  fashion  of  English  mastiff's,  though,  like  those 
mastifts,  they  waxed  right  mad  before  three  rounds  were  fired, 
and  the  white  splinters  (sight  beloved)  began  to  crackle  and  lly. 

Amyas,  having,  as  he  had  said,  the  wind,  and  being  able  to  go 
nearer  it  than  the  Spaniard,  kept  his  place  at  easy  point-blank 
range  for  his  two  eighteen-pounder  culverins,  which  Yeo  and  his 
mat'e  worked  with  terrible  effect. 

•  The  crew  of  the  Tcbie,  cast  away  on  the  Barbary  coast  a  few  years  after,  "  began  with 
haav-)*  hearts  to  sing  the  i2lh  Psalm,  '  Help,  Lord,  for  good  and  godly  men,'  etc.  Howbsit, 
ere  v.e  had  finished  luur  verses,  tha  waves  of  the  sea  had  stopped  the  breaths  of  most." 


WESTWARD  HO  I  3 1 3 

"We  are  lacking  her  through  and  through  every  shot,"  said 
he.  "  Leave  the  small  ordnance  alone  yet  awhile,  and  v^e  shall 
sink  her  without  them." 

"  Vv^hing,  whing,"  went  the  Spaniard's  shot,  like  so  many  hum- 
ming-tops, through  the  rigging  far  above  their  heads  ;  for  the  ill- 
constructed  ports  of  those  days  prevented  the  guns  from  hulling 
an  enemy  who  was  to  windward,  unless  close  alongside. 

"  Blow,  joiiy  breeze,"  cried  one,  "and  lay  the  Don  over  all  thou 
canst. — What  the  murrain  is  gone,  aloft  there  .'' " 

Alas  I  a  crack,  a  flap,  a  rattle  ;  and  blank  dismay  !  An  unlucky 
shot  had  cut  the  foremast  (already  wounded)  in  two,  and  all  for- 
ward was  a  mass  of  dangling  wreck. 

'•  Forward,  and  cut  away  the  wreck  !  "  said  Amyas,  unmoved. 
"  Small  arm  men,  be  ready.  He  will  be  aboard  of  us  in  five  min- 
utes !  " 

It  was  too  true.  The  Rose,  unmanageable  from  the  loss  of  her 
head-sail,  lay  at  the  mercy  of  the  Spaniard  ;  and  the  archers  and 
musqueteers  had  hardly  time  to  range  themselves  to  leeward,^  when 
the  Madre  Dolorosa's  chains  were  grinding  against  the  Rose's,  and 
grapples  tossed  on  board  from  stem  to  stern. 

"  Don't  cut  them  loose  I  "  roared  Amyas.  "  Let  them  stay  and 
see  the  fun  !  Now,  dogs  of  Devon,  show  your  teeth,  and  hurrah 
for  God  and  the  Queen  !  " 

And  then  began  a  fight  most  fierce  and  fell  :  the  Spaniards,  ac- 
cording to  their  fashion,  attempting  to  board,  the  English,  amid 
fierce  shouts  of  "  God  and  the  Queen  !  "  "God  and  St.  George  for 
England  !  "  sweeping  them  back  by  shov/ers  of  arrows  and  mus- 
quet  balls,  thrusting  them  down  with  pikes,  hurling  grenades  and 
stink-pots  from  the  tops  ;  while  the  swivels  on  both  sides  poured 
their  grape,  and  bar,  and  chain,  and  the  great  main-deck  guns, 
thundering  muzzle  to  muzzle,  made  both  ships  quiver  and  recoil, 
as  they  smashed  the  round  shot  through  and  through  each  other. 

So  they  roared  and  flashed,  fast  clenched  to  each  other  in  that 
devil's  wedlock,  under  a  cloud  of  smoke  beneath  the  cloudless 
tropic  sky  ;  while  all  around,  the  dolphins  gambolled,  and  the  fly- 
ing-fish shot  on  from  swell  to  swell,  and  the  rainbow-hued  jellies 
opened  and  shut  their  cups  of  living  crystal  to  the  sun,  as  merrily 
as  if  man  had  never  fallen,  and  hell  had  never  broken  loose  on 
earth. 

So  it  raged  for  an  hour  or  more,  till  all  arms  were  weary,  and 
all  tongues  clove  to  the  mouth.  And  sick  men,  rotting  with  scurvy, 
scrambled  up  on  deck,  and  fought  with  the  strength  of  madness  : 
and  tiny  powder-boys,  handing  up  cartridges  from  the  hold,  laughed 
and  cheered  as  the  shots  ran  past  their  ears  ;  and  old  Salvation 
Yeo,  a  text  upon  his  lips,  and  a  fury  in  his  heart  as  of  Joshua  or 
Elijah  in  old  times,  worked  on,  calm  and  grim,  but  with  the  energy 
of  a  boy  at  play.  And  now  and  then  an  opening  in  the  smoke 
showecl  the  Spanish  captain,  is  his  suit  of  black  steel  armor,  stand- 
ing cool  and  proud,  guiding  and  pointing,  careless  of  the  iron 
hail  but  too  lofty  a  trentlcman  to  soil  Lis  g-love  with  aught,  but  a 


3 1 4  WESTWARD  NO  ! 

knig-htly  sword-hilt :  while  Amyas  and  Will,  after  the  fashion  oi 
the  English  gentlemen,  had  stripped  themselves  nearly  as  bare  as 
their  own  sailors,  and  were  cheering,  thrusting,  hewing,  and  haul- 
ing, here,  there,  and  everywhere,  like  any  common  mariner,  and 
filling  them  with  a  spirit  of  self-respect,  fellow-feeling,  and  per- 
sonal daring,  which  the  discipline  of  the  Spaniards,  more  perfect 
mechanically,  but  cold  and  tyrannous,  and  crushing  spiritually, 
never  could  bestow.  The  black-plumed  Senor  was  obeyed  ;  but 
the  golden-locked  Amyas  was  followed  ;  and  would  have  been 
followed  through  the  jaws  of  hell. 

The  Spaniards,  ere  five  minutes  had  passed,  poured  en  masse 
into  the  Rose's  waist  :  but  only  to  their  destruction.  Between  the 
poop  and  forecastle  (as  was  then  the  fashion)  the  upper-deck  beams 
were  left  open  and  unplanked,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow 
gangway  on  either  side  ;  and  off  that  fatal  ledge  the  boarders, 
thrust  on  by  those  behind,  fell  headlong  between  the  beams  to  the 
main-deck  below,  to  be  slaughtered  helpless  in  that  pit  of  de- 
struction, by  the  double  fire  from  the  bulkheads  fore  and  aft ;  while 
the  few  who  kept  their  footing  on  the  gangway,  after  vain  attempts 
to  force  the  stockades  on  poop  and  forecastle,  leapt  overboard 
agiin  amid  a  shower  of  shot  and  arrows.  The  fire  of  the  English 
was  as  steady  as  it  was  quick  ;  and  though  three-fourths  of  the 
crew  had  never  smelt  powder  before,  they  proved  well  the  truth 
of  the  old  chronicler's  saying  (since  proved  again  more  gloriously 
than  ever,  at  Alma,  Balaklava,  and  Inkermann),  that  "  the  Eng- 
lish never  fight  better  than  in  their  first  battle." 

Thrice  the  Spaniards  clambered  on  board  ;  and  thrice  surged 
back  before  that  deadly  hail.  The  decks  on  both  sides  were  ver)' 
shambles  ;  and  Jack  Brimblecombe,  who  had  fought  as  long  as 
his  conscience  would  allow  him,  found,  when  he  turned  to  a  more 
clerical  occupation,  enough  to  do  in  carrying  poor  wretches  to  the 
surgeon,  without  giving  that  spiritual  consolation  which  he  longed 
to  give,  and  they  to  receive.  At  last  there  was  a  lull  in  that  wild 
storm.     No  shot  was  heard  from  the  Spaniard's  upper-deck. 

Amyas  leaped  into  the  mizzen  rigging,  and  looked  through  the 
smoke.  Dead  men  he  could  descry  through  the  blinding  veil, 
rolled  in  heaps,  laid  flat ;  dead  men  and  dying  :  but  no  man  upon 
his  feet.  The  last  volley  had  swept  the  deck  clear  ;  one  by  one 
had  dropped  below  to  escape  that  fiery  shower  :  and  alone  at  the 
helm,  grinding  his  teeth  with  rage,  his  mustachios  curling  up  to 
his  very  eyes,  stood  the  Spanish  captain. 

Now  was  the  moment  for  a  counter-stroke.  Amyas  shouted  for 
the  boarders,  and  in  two  minutes  more  he  was  over  the  side,  and 
clutching  at  the  Spaniard's  mizzen  rigging. 

What  was  this  "i  The  distance  between  him  and  the  enemy's 
side  ^yas  widening.  Was  she  sheering  off?  Yes— and  rising  too, 
growing  bodily  higher  every  moment,  as  if  by  magic.  Amyas 
looked  up  in  astonishment  and  saw  what  it  wa's.  The  Spaniard 
was  heeling  fast  over  to  leeward  away  from  him.  Her  masts  were 
all  sloping  forward,  swifter  and  swifter— the  end  was  come,  then  ! 


lf^£STlV.'iy:n  HO!  315 

"  Bacis: !  in  God's  name  back,  men  !  She  is  sinking  by  the 
head  !  "  And  with  much  ado  some  were  dragged  back,  some 
leaped  back — all  but  old  Michael  Heard. 

With  hair  and  beard  floating  in  the  wind,  the  bronze  naked 
figure,  like  some  weird  old  Indian  fakir,  still  climbed  on  steadfastly 
up  the  mizzen-chains  of  the  Spaniard,  hatchet  in  hand. 

"  Come  back,  Michael  !  Leap  while  you  may  !  "  shouted  a 
dozen  voices.     Michael  turned — 

"  And  what  should  I  come  back  for,  then,  to  go  home  where  no 
one  knoweth  me  .''  I'll  die  like  an  Englishman  this  day.  or  I'll 
know  the  reason  why  !  "  and  turning,  he  sprang  in  over  the  bul- 
warks, as  the  huge  ship  rolled  up  more  and  more,  like  a  dying 
whale,  exposing  all  her  long  black  bulk  almost  down  to  the  keel, 
and  one  of  her  lower-deck  guns,  as  if  in  defiance,  exploded  upright 
into  the  air,  hurling  the  ball  to  the  very  heavens. 

In  an  instant  it  was  answered  from  the  Rose  by  a  column  of 
smoke,  and  the  eighteen-pound  ball  crashed  through  the  bottom  ot 
the  defenceless  Spaniard. 

"  Who  fired  ?     Shame  to  fire  on  a  sinking  ship  !  " 

"  Gunner  Yeo,  sir,"  shouted  a  voice  up  from  the  main-deck. 
*•  He's  like  a  madman  down  here." 

"Tell  him  if  he  fires  again,  I'll  put  him  in  irons,  if  he  were  my 
own  brother.  Cut  away  the  grapples  aloft,  men.  Don't  you  see 
how  she  drags  us  over  ?     Cut  away,  or  we  shall  sink  with  her." 

They  cut  away,  and  the  Rose,  released  from  the  strain,  shook 
her  feathers  on  the  wave-crest  like  a  freed  sea-gull,  while  all  men 
held  their  breaths. 

Suddenly  the  glorious  creature  righted  herself,  and  rose  again, 
as  if  in  noble  shame,  for  one  last  struggle  with  her  doom.  Her 
bows  were  deep  in  the  water,  but  her  after-deck- still  dry.  Right- 
ed :  but  only  for  a  moment,  long  enough  to  let  her  crew  come 
pourrng  wildly  up  on  deck,  with  cries  and  prayers,  and  rush  aft  to 
the  poop,  where,  under  the  flag  of  Spain,  stood  the  tall  captain,  his 
left  hand  on  the  standard-staff,  his  sword  pointed  in  his  right. 

"Back,  men!"  they  heard  him  cry,  "and  die  like  valiant 
mariners." 

Some  of  them  ran  to  the  bulwarks,  and  shouted  "  Mercy  !  We 
surrender  !  "  and  the  English  broke  into  a  cheer  and  called  to 
them  to  run  her  alongside. 

"Silence  !"  shouted  Amyas.  "I  take  no  surrender  from  muti- 
neers. Seilor,"  cried  he  to  the  captain,  springing  into  the  rigging* 
and  taking  off"  his  hat,  "for  the  love  of  God  and  these  men,  strike^! 
and  surrender  a  buena  querra." 

The  Spaniard  lifted  his  hat  and  bowed  courteously,  and  an- 
swered, "  Impossible,  Sefior.  No  querra  is  good  which  stains  my 
honor." 

"  God  have  mercy  on  you,  then  !  " 

"  Amen  !  "  said  the  Spaniard,  crossing  himself. 

She  gave  one  awful  lounge  forward,  and  dived  under  the  coming 
swell,  hurling  her  crew  into  the  eddies.     Nothing  j^ut  the  point  of 


51 6  WESTWARD  HO! 

her  poop  remained,  and  there  stood  the  stern  and  steadfast  Don, 
cap-^-pie  in  his  glistening  black  armor,  immovable  as  a  man  oi 
iron,  while  over  him  the  flag,  which  claimed  the  empire  of  both 
worlds,  flaunted  its  gold  aloft  and  upwards  in  the  glare  of  the 
tropic  noon. 

"  He  shall  not  carry  that  flag  to  the  devil  with  him  ;  I  vrill  have 
it  yet,  if  I  die  for  it  !  "  said  Will  Cary,  and  rushed  to  the  side  to 
leap  overboard,  but  Amyas  stopped  him. 

"  Let  him  die  as  he  has  lived,  with  honor." 

A  wild  figure  sprang  out  of  the  mass  of  sailors  who  struggled  and 
shrieked  amid  the  foam,  and  rushed  upward  at  the  Spaniard.  It 
was  Michael  Heard.  The  Don,  who  stood  above  him,  plunged 
his  sword  into  the  old  man's  body  ;  but  the  hatchet  gleamed,  never- 
theless :  down  went  the  blade  through  headpiece  and  through 
head  ;  and  as  Heard  sprang  onward,  bleeding,  but  alive,  the  steel- 
clad  corpse  rattled  down  the  deck  into  the  surge.  Two  more 
strokes,  struck  with  the  fury  of  a  dying  man,  and  the  standard- 
staff  was  hewn  through.  Old  Michael  collected  all  his  strength, 
hurled  the  flag  far  from  the  sinking  ship,  and  then  stood  erect  one 
moment  and  shouted,  "God  save  Queen  Bess  !"  and  the  English 
answered  with  a  "  Hurrah  !"  which  rent  the  welkin. 

Another  momenc  and  the  gulf  had  swallowed  his  victim,  and 
the  poop,  and  him  ;  and  nothing  remained  of  the  Madre  Dolorosa 
but  a  few  floating  spars  and  struggling  wretches,  while  a  great 
awe  fell  upon  all  men,  and  a  solemn  silence,  broken  only  by  the 
cry 

"  Oleome  stroog  swimmer  in  his  agony." 

And  then,  suddenly  collecting  themselves,  as  men  awakened 
from  a  dream,  half-a-dozen  desperate  gallants,  reckless  of  sharks 
and  eddies,  leaped  overboard,  swam  towards  the  flag,  and  towed 
it  alongside  in  triumph. 

'•  Ah  !  "  said  Salvation  Yeo,  as  he  helped  the  trophy  up  over 
the  side  ;  "  ah  !  it  was  not  for  nothing  that  we  found  poor 
Michael  !  He  was  always  a  good  comrade — nigh  as  good  a  one 
as  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  whom  the  Lord  grant  I  meet  in 
bliss  !  And  now,  then,  my  masters,  shall  we  inshore  again  and 
burn  La  Guayra  ?  " 

"Art  thou  never  glutted  with  Spanish  blood,  thou  old  wolf?" 
asked  Will  Cary. 

"  Never,  sir,"  answered  Yeo. 

"  To  St.  Jago  be  it,"  said  Amyas,  "if  we  can  get  there  :  but — 
God  help  us  !  " 

And  he  looked  round  sadly  enough  ;  while  no  one  needed  that 
he  should  finish  his  sentence,  or  explain  his  "  but." 

The  foremast  was  gone,  the  main-yard  sprung,  the  rigging  hang- 
ing in  elf-locks,  the  hull  shot  through  and  through  in  twenty  places, 
the  deck  strewn  with  the  bodies  of  nine  good  men,  beside  sixteen 
wounded  down  below  ;  while  the  pitiless  sun,  right  above  theij 
heads,  poured  down  a  flood  of  fire  upon  a  sea  of  glass. 


WESTWARD  HOI  3 1 f, 

And  it  would  have  been  well  if  faintness  and  weariness  had  been 
all  that  was  the  matter  ;  but  now  that  the  excitement  was  over, 
the  collapse  came  ;  and  the  men  sat  down  listlessly  and  sulkily 
by  twos  and  threes  upon  the  deck,  starting  and  wincing  when 
they  heard  some  poor  fellow  below  cry  out  under  the  surgeon's 
knife  :  or  murmuring  to  each  other  that  all  was  lost.  Drew  tried 
in  vain  to  rouse  them,  telling  them  that  all  depended  on  rigging  a 
jury  mast  forward  as  soon  as  possible.  They  answered  only  by 
growls  ;  and  at  last  broke  into  open  reproaches.  Even  Will 
Gary's  volatile  nature,  which  had  kept  him  up  during  the  fight, 
gave  way,  when  Yeo  and  the  carpenter  came  aft.  and  told  Amyas 
in  a  low  voice — 

"  We  are  hit  somewhere  forward,  below  the  water-line,  sir. 
She  leaks  a  terrible  deal,  and  the  Lord  will  not  vouchsafe  to  us  to 
lay  our  hands  on  the  place,  for  all  our  searching." 

"  What  are  we  to  do  now,  Amyas,  in  the  devil's  name  ?  "  asked 
Gary,  peevishly. 

"  What  are  we  to  do,  in  God's  name,  rather,"  answered  Amyas 
in  a  low  voice.  "  Will,  Will,  what  did  God  make  you  a  gentle- 
man for,  but  to  know  better  than  those  poor  fickle  fellows  forward, 
who  blow  hot  and  cold  at  every  change  of  weather  !" 

"I  wish  you'd  come  forward  and  speak  to  them  sir,"  said  Yeo, 
who  had  overheard  the  last  words,  "  or  we  shall  get  nought  done." 

Amyas  went  forward  instantly. 

"  Now  then,  my  brave  lads,  what's  the  matter  here,  that  you 
are  all  sitting  on  your  tails  like  monkeys  .?  " 

"Ugh!"  grunts  one.  "Don't  you  think  our  day's  work  has 
been  long  enough  yet,  captain  ?  " 

"  You  don't  want  us  to  go  in  to  La  Guayra  again,  sir  ?  There 
are  enough  of  us  thrown  away  already,  I  reckon,  about  that  wench 
there." 

"  Best  sit  here,  and  sink  quietly.  There's  no  getting  home  again, 
that's  plain." 

"  Why  were  we  brought  out  here  to  be  killed  ?  " 

"  For  shame,  men  !"  cries  Yeo  ;  "you're  no  better  than  a  set 
of  stiffnecked  Hebrew  Jews,  murmuring  against  Moses  the  very 
minute  after  the  Lord  has  delivered  you  from  the  Egyptians." 

Now  I  do  not  wish  to  set  Amyas  up  as  a  perfect  man  ;  for  he  had 
his  faults  like  every  one  else  ;  nor  as  better,  thank  God,  than 
many  and  many  a  brave  and  virtuous  captain  in  her  Majesty's 
service  at  this  very  day  :  but  certainly  he  behaved  admirably 
•  nder  that  trial.  Drake  had  trained  him,  as  he  trained  many 
another  excellent  officer,  to  be  as  stout  in  disciplme.  and  as  dogged 
of  purpose,  as  he  himself  was  :  but  he  had  trained  him  also  to 
feel  Vv'ith  and  for  his  men,  to  make  allowances  for  them,  and  to 
keep  his  temper  with  them,  as  he  did  this  day.  True,  he  had 
seen  Drake  in  a  rage  ;  he  had  seen  him  hang  one  man  for  a  mutiny 
(and  that  man  his  dearest  friend),  and  threaten  to  hang  thirty 
more  ;  but  Amyas  remembered  well  that  that  explosion  took  place 
when  having,  as  Drake  said  publicly  himself,  "  taken  in  hand  *.ha^ 


0  1 8  WESTWARD  HO  / 

"i  know  not  in  the  world  how  to  go  through  with  ;  it  passeth  my 
capacity  ;  it  hath  even  bereaved  me  of  my  wits  to  think  of  it,"  .  .  ., 
and  having  "  now  set  together  by  the  ears  three  mighty  princes, 
her  Majesty  and  the  kings  of  Spain  and  Portugal,"  he  found  hia 
whole  voyage  ready  to  come  to  nought,  "  by  mutinies  and  dis- 
cords, controversy  between  the  sailors  and  gentlemen,  and  stom- 
aching between  the  gentlemen  and  sailors."  "  But,  my  masters" 
(quoth  the  self-trained  hero,  and  Amyas  never  forgot  his  words), 
"  I  must  have  it  left  ;  for  I  must  have  the  gentlemen  to  haul  and 
draw  with  the  mariner,  and  the  mariner  with  the  gentlemen.  I 
would  like  to  know  him  that  would  refuse  to  set  his  hand  to  a 
rope  ! " 

And  now  Amyas's  conscience  smote  him  (and  his  simple  and 
pious  soul  took  the  loss  of  his  brother  as  God's  verdict  on  his 
conduct),  because  he  had  set  his  own  private  affection,  even  his 
own  private  revenge,  before  the  safety  of  his  ship's  company,  and 
the  good  ot  his  country. 

"  Ah,"  said  he  to  himself,  as  he  listened  to  his  men's  reproaches, 
"  if  I  had  been  thinking,  like  a  loyal  soldier,  of  serving  my  queen, 
and  crippling  the  Spaniard,  I  should  have  taken  that  great  bark 
three  days  ago,  and  in  it  the  very  man  I  sought  !  " 

So  "  choking  down  his  old  man,"  as  Yeo  used  to  say,  he  made 
answer  cheerfully — 

"  Pooh  !  pooh  !  brave  lads  !  For  shame,  for  shame  !  You 
were  lions  half-an-hour  ago  ;  you  are  not  surely  turned  sheep 
already  !  Why,  but  yesterday  evening  you  were  grumbling  be- 
cause I  would  not  run  in  and  fight  those  three  ships  under  the 
batteries  of  La  Guayra,  and  now  you  think  it  too  much  to  have 
fought  them  fairly  out  at  sea  ?  What  has  happened  but  the 
chances  of  war,  which  might  have  happened  anywhere  ?  Nothing 
venture,  nothing  win  ;  and  nobody  goes  birdnesting  v^dthout  a 
fall  at  times.  If  any  one  wants  to  be  safe  in  this  life,  he'd  best 
stay  at  home  and  keep  his  bed  ;  though  even  there,  who  knows 
but  the  roof  might  fall  through  on  him  1  " 

"Ah,  it's  all  very  well  for  you,  captain,"  said  some  grumbling 
younker,  with  a  vague  notion  that  Amyas  must  be  better  off  than 
he,  because  he  was  a  gentleman.     Amyas's  blood  rose. 

"  Yes,  sirrah  !  it  is  ver}-  well  for  me,  as  long  as  God  is  with  me  : 
but  He  is  with  every  man  in  this  ship,  I  would  have  you  to  know, 
as  much  as  He  is  with  me.  Do  you  fancy  that  I  have  nothing  to 
lose  ?  I  who  have  adventured  in  this  voyage  all  I  am  worth,  and 
more  ;  who,  if  I  fail,  must  return  to  beggary  and  scorn  ?     And  if 

1  have  ventured  rashly,  sinfully,  if  you  will,  the  lives  of  any  o( 
you  in  my  own  private  quarrel,  am  I  not  punished  ?  Have  I  not 
lost ?  " 

His  voice  trembled  and  stopped  there,  but  he  recovered  himsel^ 
in  a  moment. 

"Pish'  I  can'i  stand  liere  chattering.  Carpenter!  an  axe! 
and  help  me  to  cast  these  spars  loose.  Get  out  of  my  way,  there  ! 
lumbering  the  scuppers  up  like  so  m^inv  moulting  fowls  I     Here. 


WESTIVAKD  BO!  319 

all  old  friends,  lend  a  hand  !  Pelican's  men,  stand  by  yov.r  cap- 
tain !     Did  we  sail  round  the  world  for  nothing  ?  " 

This  last  appeal  struck  home,  and  up  leaped  half-a-dozen  of  the 
old  Pelicans,  and  set  to  work  at  his  side  manfully  to  rig  the  jury- 
mast. 

"Come  along!"  cried  Gary  to  the  malcontents;  "we're  raw 
longshore  fellows,  but  we  won't  be  outdone  by  any  old  sea-dog  of 
them  all."  And  setting  to  work  himself,  he  was  soon  followed  by 
one  and  another,  till  order  and  work  went  on  well  enough. 

"  And  where  are  we  going,  when  the  mast's  up  ?  "  shouted  some 
saucy  hand  from  behind. 

"  Where  you  daren't  follow  us  alone  by  yourself,  so  you  had 
better  keep  us  company,"  replied  Yeo. 

"  I'll  tell  you  where  we  are  going,  lads,"  said  Amyas,  rising 
from  his  work.  "  Like  it  or  leave  it  as  you  will,  I  have  no  secrets 
from  my  crew.  We  are  going  inshore  there  to  find  a  harbor,  and 
careen  the  ship." 

There  was  a  start  and  a  murmur, 

"  Inshore  ?     Into  the  Spaniards'  mouths  ?  " 

••AH  in  the  Inquisition  in  a  week's  time." 

"  Better  stay  here,  and  be  drowned." 

"  You're  right  in  that  last,"  shouts  Gary.  "  That's  the  right 
death  for  blind  puppies.  Look  you  !  I  don't  know  in  the  least 
where  we  are,  and  I  hardly  know  stem  from  stern  aboard  ship ; 
and  the  captain  may  be  right  or  wrong — that's  nothing  to  me  ; 
t)ut  this  I  know,  that  I  am  a  soldier,  and  will  obey  orders  ;  and 
where  he  goes,  I  go  ;  and  whosoever  hinders  me  must  walk  up 
my  sword  to  do  it." 

Amyas  pressed  Gary's  hand,  and  then — 

"  And  here's  my  broadside  next,  men.  I'll  go  nowhere,  and  do 
nothing  without  the  advice  of  Salvation  Yeo  and  Robert  Drew  ; 
and  if  any  man  in  the  ship  knows  better  than  these  two,  let  him 
up,  and  we'll  give  him  a  hearing.     Eh,  Pelicans  ?  " 

There  was  a  grunt  of  approbation  from  the  Pelicans  ;  and 
Amyas  returned  to  the  charge. 

"  We  have  five  shot  between  wind  and  water,  and  one  some- 
where below.  Gan  we  face  a  gale  of  wind  in  that  state,  or  can 
we  not  ?  " 

Silence. 

"  Gan  we  get  home  with  a  leak  in  our  bottom  ?  " 

Silence. 

"  Then  what  can  we  do  but  run  inshore,  and  take  our  chance  .'* 
Speak  !  It's  a  coward's  trick  to  do  nothing  because  what  we  must 
do  is  not  pleasant.  Will  you  be  like  children,  that  would  sooner 
die  than  take  nasty  physic,  or  will  you  not  ?  " 

Silence  still. 

"  Gome  along  now  !  Here's  the  wind  again  round  with  the  sun, 
and  up  to  the  north-west.     In  with  her  !  " 

Sulkily  enough,  but  unable  to  deny  the  necessity,  the  men  set 
to  work,  and  the  vessel's  head  was  put  toward  the  land  ;  but  v;hen 


320  WESTWARD  HOI 

she  began  to  slip  through  the  water,  the  leak  increased  so  fast, 
that  they  were  kept  hard  at  work  at  the  pumps  for  the  rest  of  the 
afternoon. 

The  current  had  by  this  time  brought  them  abreast  of  the  bay 
of  Higuerote  ;  and,  luckily  for  them,  safe  out  ot  the  short  heavy 
swell  which  it  causes  round  Cape  Codera.  Looking  inland,  they 
had  now  to  the  south-west  that  noble  headland,  backed  by  the 
Carracca  Mountains,  range  on  range,  up  to  the  Silla  and  the  Ne- 
guater  ;  while,  right  ahead  of  them  to  the  south,  the  shore  sank 
suddenly  into  a  low  line  of  mangrove-wood,  backed  by  primseval 
forest.  As  they  ran  inward,  all  eyes  were  strained  greedily  to  find 
some  opening  in  the  mangrove  belt :  but  none  was  to  be  seen  for 
some  time.  The  lead  was  kept  going ;  and  every  fresh  heave  an- 
nounced shallower  water. 

"  We  shall  have  very  shoal  work  off  those  mangroves,  Yeo," 
said  Amyas  ;  "  I  doubt  whether  we  shall  do  aught  now,  unless  we 
find  a  river's  mouth." 

"  If  the  Lord  thinks  a  river  good  for  us,  sir,  He'll  show  us  one." 
So  on  they  went,  keeping  a  south-east  course,  and  at  last  an  open- 
ing in  the  mangrove  belt  was  hailed  with  a  cheer  from  the  older 
hands,  though  the  majority  shrugged  their  shoulders,  as  men 
going  open-eyed  to  destruction. 

Off  the  mouth  they  sent  in  Drew  and  Cary  with  a  boat,  and 
watched  anxiously  for  an  hour.  The  boat  returned  with  a  good 
report  of  two  fathoms  of  water  over  the  bar,  impenetrable  forests 
for  two  miles  up,  the  river  sixty  yards  broad,  and  no  sign  of  man. 
The  river's  banks  were  soft  and  sloping  mud,  fit  for  careening. 

"Safe  quarters,  sir,"  said  Yeo  privately,  "as  far  as  Spaniards 
go.     I  hope  in  God  it  may  be  as  safe  from  calentures  and  fevers." 

"Beggars  must  not  be  choosers,"  said  Amyas.  So  in  they 
went. 

They  towed  the  ship  up  about  half-a-mile  to  a  point  where  she 
could  not  be  seen  from  the  seaward  ;  and  there  moored  her  to  the 
mangrove-stems.  Amyas  ordered  a  boat  out,  and  went  up  the 
river  himself  to  reconnoitre.  He  rowed  some  three  miles,  till  the 
river  narrowed  suddenly,  and  was  all  but  covered  in  by  the  inter- 
lacing boughs  of  mighty  trees.  There  was  no  sign  that  man  had 
been  there  since  the  making  of  the  world. 

He  dropped  down  the  stream  again,  thoughtfully  and  sadly. 
How  many  years  ago  was  it  that  he  passed  this  river's  mouth  ? 
Three  days.  And  yet  how  much  had  passed  in  them  !  Don  Guz- 
man found  and  lost — Rose  found  and  lost — a  great  victory  gained, 
and  yet  lost — perhaps  his  ship  lost — above-^ll,  his  brother  lost. 

Lost  !  O  God,  how  should  he  find  his  brother  "i 

Some  strange  bird  out  of  the  woods  made  mournful  answer — 
''  Never,  never,  never  !  " 

How  should  he  face  his  mother  ? 

"  Never,  never,  never  !  "  wailed  the  bird  again  ;  and  Amyas 
smiled  bitterly,  and  said  "  Never  !  "  likewise. 

fhe  night  mist  began  to  steam  and  v»-reath  upon  the  foul  beer- 


WES  TWARD  HO  t  3  2 1 

colored  stream.  The  loathy  floor  of  liquid  mud  lay  bare  beneath 
the  mangrove  forest.  Upon  the  endless  web  of  inter-arching  roots 
great  purple  crabs  were  crawling  up  and  down.  They  would  have 
supped  with  pleasure  upon  Amyas's  corpse  ;  perhaps  they  might  sup 
on  him  after  all  ;  for  a  heavy  sickening  graveyard  smell  made  his 
heart  sink  within  him,  and  his  stomach  heave  ;  and  his  weary  body, 
and  more  weary  soul,  gave  themselves  up  helplessly  to  the  depress-, 
ing  intiuence  of  that  doleful  place.  The  black  bank  of  dingy  leath- 
ern leaves  above  his  head,  the  endless  labyrinth  of  stems  and  withes 
(for  every  bough  had  lowered  its  own  living  cord,  to  take  fresh  hold 
of  the  foul  soil  belov/)  ;  the  web  of  roots,  which  stretched  away 
inland  till  it  was  lost  in  the  shades  of  evening — all  seemed  one 
horrid  complicated  trap  for  him  and  his  ;  and  even  where,  here 
and  there,  he  passed  the  mouth  of  a  lagoon,  there  was  no  open- 
ing, no  relief — nothing  but  the  dark  ring  of  mangroves,  and  here 
and  there  an  isolated  group  of  large  and  small,  parents  and 
children,  breeding  and  spreading,  as  if  in  hideous  haste  to  choke 
out  air  and  sky.  Wailing  sadly,  sad-colored  mangrove-hens  ran 
off  across  the  mud  into  the  dreary  dark.  The  hoarse  nightraven, 
hid  among  the  roots,  startled  the  voyagers  with  a  sudden  shout, 
and  then  all  was  again  silent  as  a  grave.  The  loathly  alligators, 
lounging  in  the  slime,  lifted  their  horny  eyelids  lazily,  and  leered 
upon  him  as  he  passed  with  stupid  savageness.  Lines  of  tall 
herons  stood  dimly  in  the  growing  gloom,  like  white  fantastic 
ghosts,  watching  the  passage  of  the  doomed  boat.  All  was  foul, 
sullen,  weird  as  witches'  dream.  If  Amyas  had  seen  a  crew  of 
skeletons  glide  down  the  stream  behind  him,  with  Satan  standing 
at  the  helm,  he  would  have  scarcely  been  surprised.  What  fitter 
craft  could  haunt  that  Stygian  flood  ? 

That  night  every  man  of  the  boat's  crew,  save  Amyas,  was  down 
with  raging  fever  ;  before  ten  the  next  morning,  five  more  men 
were  taken,  and  others  sickening  fast. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

HOW  THEY   TOOK  THE   COMMUNION   UNDER  THE  TREE   AT 
HIGUEROTE. 

"  Follow  thee  ?     Follow  tliee  ?    Wha  wad  na  follow  thee  ? 
Lang  hast  thou  lo'ed  and  trusted  us  fairly." 

Amyas  would  have  certainly  taken  the  yellow  fever,  but  for  one 
reason,  which  he  himLsIf  gave  to  Gary.  He  had  no  time  to  be 
sick  while  his  men  were  sick  ;  a  valid  and  sufficient  reason  (as 
many  a  noble  soul  in  the  Crimea  has  known  too  well),  as  long  as 
the  excitement  of  work  is  present :  but  too  apt  to  fail  the  hero,  and 
to  let  him  sink  into  the  pit  which  he  has  so  often  overleapt,  the 
moment  that  his  work  is  done.  *■ 

He  called  a  council,of.war.  or^rathe.r  a  sanitary  commission,  the 


32  3  ^VES  TWAKD  HO  ! 

next  morning  ;  for  he  was  fairly  at  his  wits'  end.  The  men  were 
panic-stricken,  ready  to  mutiny  :  Amyas  told  them  that  he  could 
not  see  any  possible  good  which  could  accrue  to  them  by  killing 
him,  or — (for  there  were  two  sides  to  every  question) — being  killed 
by  him  ;  and  then  v/ent  below  to  consult.  The  doctor  talked  mere 
science,  or  nonscience,  about  humors,  complexions,  and  animal 
spirits.  Jack  Brimblecombe,  mere  pulpit,  about  its  being  the  visi- 
tation of  God.  Cary,  mere  despair,  though  he  jested  over  it  with  a 
smile.  Yeo,  mere  stoic  fatalism,  though  he  quoted  Scripture  to 
back  the  same.  Drew,  the  master,  had  nothing  to  say.  His  "  busi- 
ness was  to  sail  the  ship,  and  not  to  cure  calentures." 

Whereon  Amyas  clutched  his  locks,  according  to  custom  ;  and 
at  last  broke  forth — 

"  Doctor  !  a  fig  for  your  humors  and  complexions  !  Can  you 
cure  a  man's  humors,  or  change  his  complexion  ?  Can  an  Ethio- 
pian change  his  skin,  or  a  leopard  his  spots  ?  Don't  shove  off 
your  ignorance  on  God,  sir.  I  ask  you  what's  the  reason  of  this  sick- 
ness, and  you  don't  know.  Jack  Brimblecombe,  don't  talk  to  me 
about  God's  visitation  ;  this  looks  much  more  like  the  devil's  visi- 
tation, to  my  mind.  We  are  doing  God's  work,  Sir  John,  and  He 
is  not  likely  to  hinder  us.  So  down  with  the  devil,  say  I.  Cary, 
laughing  killed  the  cat,  but  it  won't  cure  a  Christian.  Yeo,  when 
an  angel  tells  me  that  it's  God's  will  that  we  should  all  die  Hke 
dogs  in  a  ditch,  I'll  call  this  God's  will ;  but  not  before.  Drew, 
you  say  your  business  is  to  sail  the  ship  ;  then  sail  her  out  of  this 
infernal  poison-trap  this  very  morning,  if  you  can,  which  you  can't. 
The  mischiefs  in  the  air,  and  nowhere  else.  I  felt  it  run  through 
me  coming  down  last  night,  and  smelt  it  like  any  sewer  :  and  if  it 
was  not  in  the  air,  why  v/as  my  boat's  crew  taken  first,  tell  me  that  ?  " 

There  was  no  answer. 

"  Then  I'll  tell  you  why  they  were  taken  first  :  because  the  mist, 
when  we  came  through  it,  only  rose  five  or  six  feet  above  the 
stream,  and  we  were  in  it,  while  you  on  board  were  above  it. 
And  those  that  were  taken  on  board  this  morning,  every  one  of 
them,  slept  on  the  main-deck,  and  every  one  of  them,  too,  v/as  in 
fear  of  the  fever,  whereby  I  judge  two  things, — Keep  as  high  as 
you  can,  and  fear  nothing  but  God,  and  we're  all  safe  yet." 

"  But  the  fog  was  up  to  our  round-tops  at  sunrise  this  morning," 
said  Cary. 

"  I  know  it  :  but  we. who  were  on  the  half-deck  were  not  in  it  so 
long  as  those  below,  and  that  may  have  made  the  difference,  let 
alone  our  having  free  air.  Beside,  I  suspect  the  heat  in  the  even- 
ning  draws  the  poison  out  more,  and  that  when  it  gets  cold  to- 
ward morning,  the  venom  of  it  goes  off  somehow." 

How  it  went  off  Amyas  could  not  tell  (right  in  his  facts  as  he 
was),  for  nobody  on  earth  knew,  I  suppose,  at  that  day  ;  and  it 
was  not  till  nearly  two  centuries  of  fatal  experience  that  the  settlers 
in  America  discovered  the  simple  laws  of  these  epidemics  which 
novv  every  child  knows,  or  ought  to  know.  But  common  sense 
was  on  his  side  ;  and  Yeo  rose  and  spoke — 


WESTWARD  HO  I  523 

*•  As  I  have  said  before,  many  a  time,  the  Lord  has  sent  us  a 
very  young  Daniel  forjudge.  I  remember  now  to  have  heard  the 
Spaniards  say,  how  these  calentures  lay  always  in  the  low  ground, 
and  never  came  more  than  a  few  hundred  feet  above  the  sea." 

"  Let  us  go  up  those  few  hundred  feet,  then." 

Every  man  looked  at  Amyas,  and  then  at  his  neighbor. 

"Gentlemen,  '  Look  the  devil  straight  in  the  face,  if  you  would 
hit  him  in  the  right  place.'  We  cannot  get  the  ship  to  sea  as  she 
is  ;  and  if  we  could,  we  cannot  go  home  empty-handed  ;  and  vrc 
surely  cannot  stay  here  to  die  of  fever. — We  must  leave  the  ship 
and  go  inland." 

"  Inland  ?  "  answered  every  voice  but  Yeo's. 

"  Up  those  hundred  feet  which  Yeo  talks  of.  Up  to  the  moun- 
tains ;  stockade  a  camp,  and  get  our  sick  and  provisions  thither.'* 

"  And  what  next  ?  " 

"  And  when  we  are  recruited,  march  over  the  mountains,  and 
surprise  St.  Yago  de  Leon." 

Gary  swore  a  great  oath.     "  Amyas  !  you  are  a  daring  fellow!  ** 

"  Not  a  bit.     It's  the  plain  path  of  prudence." 

"  So  it  is,  sir,"  said  old  Yeo,  "and  I  follow  you  in  it." 

"And  so  do  I,"  squeaked  Jack  Brimblecombe. 

"  Nay,  then.  Jack,  thou  shalt  not  outrun  me.  So  I  say  yes 
too,"  quoth  Gary. 

"  Mr.  Drew  ?  " 

"  At  your  service,  sir,  to  live  or  die.  I  know  nought  about  stock- 
ading ;  but  Sir  Francis  would  have  given  the  same  council,  I  verily 
believe,  if  he  had  been  in  your  place." 

"  Then  tell  the  men  that  we  start  in  an  hour's  time.  Win  over 
the  Pelicans,  Yeo  and  Drew  ;  and  the  rest  must  follow,  like  sheep 
over  a  hedge." 

The  Pelicans,  and  the  liberated  galley-slaves,  joined  the  project 
at  once  :  but  the  rest  gave  Amyas  a  stormy  hour.  The  great 
question  was,  where  were  the  hills  ?  In  that  dense  mangrove 
thicket  they  could  not  see  fifty  yards  before  them. 

"  The  hills  are  not  three  miles  to  the  south-west  of  you  at  this 
moment,"  said  Amyas.  "  I  marked  every  shoulder  of  them  as  we 
ran  in." 

"  I  suppose  you  meant  to  take  us  there  ?  " 

The  question  set  a  light  to  a  train — and  angry  suspicions  were 
blazing  up  one  after  another,  but  Amyas  silenced  them  with  a 
countermine. 

"  Fools  !  if  I  had  not  wit  enow  to  look  ahead  a  little  farther 
than  you  do,  where  would  you  be  ?  Are  you  mad  as  well  as 
reckless,  to  rise  against  your  own  captain  because  he  has  two 
strings  to  his  bow  }  Go  my  way,  I  say,  or,  as  I  live,  I'll  blow  up 
the  ship  and  every  soul  on  board,  and  save  you  the  pain  of  rottine 
here  by  inches." 

The  men  knew  that  Amyas  never  said  what  he  did  not  intend 
to  dr  ;  not  that  Amyas  intended  to  do  this,  because  he  knew  that 
the  threat  would  be  enough.     So  they  agreed  to  go  ;  and   were 


324 


WESTWAI^D  HO  f 


reassured  by  seeing  that  the  old  Pelican's  men  turned  to  the  work 
heartily  and  cheerfully. 

There  is  no  use  keeping  the  reader  for  five  or  six  weary 
hours,  under  a  broiling  (or  rather  stewing)  sun,  stumbling  over 
mangrove  roots,  hewing  his  way  through  thorny  thickets,  drag- 
ging sick  men  and  provisions  up  mountain  steeps,  amid  disap- 
pointment, fatigue,  murmurs,  curses,  snakes,  mosquitoes,  false 
alarms  of  Spaniards,  and  every  misery,  save  cold,  which  flesh  is 
heir  to.  Suffice  it  that  by  sunset  that  evening  they  had  gained  a 
level  spot,  a  full  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  backed  by  an  inac- 
cessible cliff  which  formed  the  upper  shoulder  of  a  mighty  moun- 
tain, defended  below  by  steep  wooded  slopes,  and  needing  but  the 
felling  of  a  few  trees  to  make  it  impregnable. 

Amyas  settled  the  sick  under  the  arched  roots  of  an  enormous 
Cottonwood  tree,  and  made  a  second  journey  to  the  ship,  to  bring 
up  hammocks  and  blankets  for  them  :  while  Yeo's  wisdom  and 
courage  were  of  inestimable  value.  He,  as  pioneer,  had  found  the 
little  brook  up  which  they  forced  their  way  ;  he  had  encouraged 
them  to  climb  the  cliffs  over  which  it  fell,  arguing  rightly  that  on 
its  course  they  were  sure  to  find  some  ground  fit  for  encampment 
within  the  reach  of  water  ;  he  had  supported  Amyas,  when  again 
and  again  the  weary  crew  entreated  to  be  dragged  no  farther,  and 
had  gone  back  again  a  dozen  times  to  cheer  them  upward  ;  while 
Gary,  who  brought  up  the  rear,  bullied  and  cheered  on  the  strag- 
glers who  sat  down  and  refused  to  move,  drove  back  at  the 
sword's  point  more  than  one  who  was  beating  a  retreat,  carried 
their  burdens  for  them,  sang  them  songs  on  the  halt  ;  in  all  things 
approving  himself  the  gallant  and  hopeful  soul  which  he  had 
always  been  :  till  Amyas,  beside  himself  with  joy  at  finding  that 
the  two  men  on  whom  he  had  counted  most  were  utterly  worthy 
of  his  trust,  went  so  far  as  to  whisper  to  them  both,  in  confidence, 
that  very  night— 

"Cortes  burnt  his  ships  when  he  landed.  Why  should  not 
we?" 

Yeo  leapt  upright  ;  and  then  sat  down  again,  and  whispered. 

"  Do  you  say  that,  captain  ?  'Tis  from  above,  then,  that's  cer- 
tain ;  for  it's  been  hanging  on  my  mind  too  all  day." 

"There's  no  hurry,"  quoth  Amyas;  "we  must  clear  her  out 
first,  you  know,"  while  Gary  sat  silent  and  musing.  Amyas  had 
evidently  more  schemes  in  his  head  than  he  chose  to  tell. 

The  men  were  too  tired  that  evening  to  do  much  :  but  ere  the 
sun  rose  next  morning  Amyas  had  them  hard  at  work  fortifying 
their  position.  It  was,  as  I  said,  strong  enough  by  nature  ;  for 
thcugh  it  was  commanded  by  high  cliffs  on  three  sides,  yet  there 
was  no  chance  of  an  enemy  coming  over  the  enormous  mountain- 
range  behind  them,  and  still  less  chance  that,  if  he  came,  he  would 
discover  them  through  the  dense  mass  of  trees  which  crowned 
the  cliff,  and  clothed  the  hills  for  a  thousand  feet  above.  The  at- 
tack, if  it  took  place,  would  come  from  below  ;  and  against  that 
Amyas  guarded  by  felling  the  smaller  trees,  and  laying  them  with 


WESTlVARD  not  3^^ 

their  boughs  outward  over  the  crest  of  the  slope,  thus  forming  an 
abatts  (as  every  one  who  has  shot  in  '  'ck  cover  knows  to  his  cost) 
warranted  to  bring  up  in  two  steps,  horse,  dog,  or  man.  The 
trunks  were  sawn  into  logs,  laid  lengthwise,  and  ste:idied  by 
stakes  and  mould  ;  and  three  or  four  hours'  hard  work  finished  a 
stockade  which  would  defy  anything  but  r.rtillery.  The  work 
done,  Amyas  scrambled  up  into  the  boughs  of  the  enormous 
ceiba-tree,  and  there  sat  inspecting  his  own  handiwork,  looking 
out  far  and  wide  over  the  forest-covered  plains  and  the  blue  sea 
beyond,  and  thinking,  in  his  simple  straightforward  way,  of  v/hat 
was  to  be  done  next. 

To  stay  there  long  was  impossible  ;  to  avenge  himself  upon  La 
Guayra  was  impossible  ;  to  go  until  he  had  found  out  whether 
Frank  was  alive  or  dead  seemed  at  first  equally  impossible.  But 
were  Brimblecombe,  Gary,  and  those  eighty  men  to  be  sacrificed 
a  second  time  to  his  private  interest  ?  Amyas  wept  with  rage, 
and  then  wept  again  with  earnest,  honest  prayer,  before  he  could 
make  up  his  mind.  But  he  made  it  up.  There  were  a  hundred 
chances  to  one  that  Frank  was  dead  ;  and  if  not,  he  was  equally 
past  their  help  ;  for  he  was — Amyas  knew  that  too  well — by  this 
time  in  the  hands  of  the  Inquisition.  Who  could  lift  him  from 
that  pit  ?  Not  Amyas,  at  least  !  And  crying  aloud  in  his  agony, 
■"  God  help  him  !  for  I  cannot ! "  Amyas  made  up  his  mind  to 
move.  But  whither  ?  Many  an  hour  he  thought  and  thought 
alone,  there  in  his  airy  nest  ;  and  at  last  he  went  down,  calm  and 
cheerful,  and  drew  Gary  and  Yeo  aside.  They  could  not,  he  said, 
reht  the  ship  without  dying  of  fever  during  the  process  ;  an  asser- 
tion which  neither  of  his  hearers  was  bold  enough  to  deny.  Even 
if  they  refitted  her,  they  would  be  pretty  certain  to  have  to  fight 
the  Spaniards  again  ;  for  it  was  impossible  to  doubt  the  Indian's 
story,  that  they  had  been  forewarnecl  of  the  Rose's  coming,  or  to 
doubt,  either,  that  Eustace  had  been  the  traitor. 

"  Let  us  try  St.  Yago,  then  ;  sack  it,  come  down  on  La  Guayra 
in  the  rear,  take  a  ship  there,  and  so  get  home." 

"  Nay,  Will.  If  they  have  strengthened  themselves  against  us 
at  La  Guayra,  where  they  had  little  to  lose,  surely  they  have  done 
so  at  St.  Yago,  where  they  have  much.  I  hear  the  town  is  large, 
though  new  ;  and  besides,  how  can  we  get  over  these  mountains 
without  a  guide  ?" 

•'  Or  with  one  ?  "  said  Gary,  with  a  sigh,  looking  up  at  the  vast 
walls  of  wood  and  rock  which  rose  range  on  range  for  miles. 
"  But  it  is  strange  to  find  you,  at  least,  throwing  cold  water  on  a 
daring  plot." 

"  What  if  I  had  a  still  more  daring  one  .''  Did  you  ever  hear  of 
the  golden  city  of  Manoa  ?  " 

Yeo  laughed  a  grim  but  joyful  laugh.  I  have,  sir ;  and  so 
have  the  old  hands  from  the  Pelican  and  the  Jesus  of  Lubec,  I 
doubt  not." 

"  So  much  the  better ;  "  and  Amyas  began  to  tell  Gary  all  which 
he  had  learned  from  the  Spaniard,  while  Yeo  capped  every  word 


^25  IVES  TWA  J^D  Hot 

thereof  with  rumors  and  traditions  of  his  own  gathering.  Gary 
sat  half  aghast  as  the  huge  phantasmagoria  unfolded  itself  before 
his  dazzled  eyes  ;  and  at  last— 

"  So  that  was  why  you  wanted  to  burn  the  ship  !  Well,  after 
all,  nobody  needs  me  at  home,  and  one  less  at  table  won't  be 
missed.     So  you  want  to  play  Cortes,  eh  ?  " 

"  We  shall  never  need  to  play  Cortes  (who  was  not  such  a  bad 
fellow  after  all,  Will),  because  we  shall  have  no  such  cannibal 
fiends'  tyranny  to  rid  the  earth  of,  as  he  had.  And  I  trust  ws 
shall  fear  God  enough  not  to  play  Pizarro." 

So  the  conversation  dropped  for  the  time,  but  none  of  them 
forgot  it. 

In  that  mountain-nook  the  party  spent  some  ten  days  and  more. 
Several  of  the  sick  men  died,  some  from  the  fever  superadded  to 
their  wounds  ;  some,  probably,  from  having  been  bled  by  the 
surgeon  ;  the  others  mended  steadily,  by  the  help  of  certain  herbs 
which  Yeo  administered,  much  to  the  disgust  of  the  doctor,  who, 
of  course,  wanted  to  bleed  the  poor  fellows  all  round,  and  was  all 
but  mutinous  when  Amyas  stayed  his  hand.  In  the  meanwhile, 
by  dint  of  daily  trips  to  the  ship,  provisions  were  plentiful  enough, 
— beside  the  racoons,  monkeys,  and  other  small  animals,  which 
Yeo  and  the  veterans  of  Hawkins's  crew  knew  how  to  catch,  and 
the  fruit  and  vegetables;  above  all,  the  delicious  mountain  cab- 
bage of  the  Areca  palm,  and  the  fresh  milk  of  the  cow-tree,  which 
they  brought  in  daily,  paying  well  thereby  for  the  hospitality  they 
received. 

All  day  long  a  careful  watch  was  kept  among  the  branches  of 
the  mighty  ceiba-tree.  And  what  a  tree  that  was  !  The  hugest 
English  oak  would  have  seemed  a  stunted  bush  beside  it.  Borne 
up  on  roots,  or  rather  walls,  of  twisted  board,  some  twelve  feet 
high,  between  which  the  whole  crew,  their  ammunitions,  and  pro- 
visions, were  housed  roomily,  rose  the  enormous  trunk  full  forty 
feet  in  girth,  towering  like  some  tall  lighthouse,  smooth  for  a  hun- 
dred feet,  then  crowned  with  boughs,  each  of  which  was  a  stately 
tree,  whose  topmost  twigs  were  full  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
from  the  ground.  And  yet  it  was  easy  for  the  sailors  to  ascend  ; 
so  many  natural  ropes  had  kind  Nature  lowered  for  their  use,  in 
the  smooth  lianes  which  hung  to  the  very  earth,  often  without  a 
knot  or  a  leaf.  Once  in  the  tree,  you  were  within  a  new  world, 
suspended  between  heaven  and  earth,  and  as  Cary  said,  no  wonder 
if,  like  Jack  when  he  climbed  the  magic  bean-stalk,  you  had  found 
a  castle,  a  giant,  and  a  few  acres  of  well-stocked  park,  packed 
away  somewhere  amid  that  labyrinth  of  timber.  Flower-gardens 
at  least  were  there  in  plenty  ;  for  every  limb  was  covered  with 
pendent  cactuses,  gorgeous  orchises,  and  wild  pines  ;  and  while 
one-half  the  tree  was  clothed  in  rich  foliage,  the  other  half,  utterly 
leafless,  bore  on  every  twig  brilliant  yellow  flowers,  around  which 
humming-birds  whirred  all  day  long.  Parrots  peeped  in  and  out 
of  every  cranny,  v/hile,  within  the  airy  woodland,  brilliant  lizards 
basked  like  living  gems  upon  tha  bark,  gaudy  finches  flitted  and 


WESrWAJ^D  HO  ! 


32: 


chirruped,  butterflies  of  every  size  and  color  hovered  over  the 
topmost  twigs,  innumerable  insects  hummed  from  morn  till  eve  ; 
and  when  the  sun  went  down,  tree-toads  came  out  to  snore  and 
croak  till  dawn.  There  was  more  life  round  that  one  tree  than  in 
a  whole  square  mile  of  English  soil. 

And  Amyas,  as  he  lounged  among  the  branches,  felt  at  mo- 
ments as  if  he  would  be  content  to  stay  there  forever,  and  feed 
his  eyes  and  ears  with  all  its  wonders — and  then  started  sighing 
from  his  dream,  as  he  recollected  that  a  few  days  must  bring  the 
foe  upon  them,  and  force  him  to  decide  upon  some  scheme  at 
which  the  bravest  heart  might  falter  without  shame.  So  there  he 
sat  (for  he  often  took  the  scout's  place  himseli),  looking  out  over 
the  fantastic  tropic  forest  at  his  feet,  and  the  flat  mangrove-swamps 
below,  and  the  white  sheet  of  foam-flecked  blue  ;  and  yet  no  sail 
appeared  ;  and  the  men,  as  their  fear  of  fever  subsided,  began  to 
ask  when  they  would  go  down  and  refit  the  ship,  and  Amyas  put 
them  off  as  best  he  could,  till  one  noon  he  saw  slipping  along  the 
shore  from  the  westv/ard,  a  large  ship  under  easy  sail,  and  recog- 
nized in  her,  or  thought  he  did  so,  the  ship  which  they  had  passed 
upon  their  way. 

If  it  was  she,  she  must  have  run  past  them  to  La  Guayra  in  the 
night,  and  have  now  returned,  perhaps,  to  search  for  them  along 
the  coast. 

She  crept  along  slowly,  He  was  in  hopes  that  she  might  pass 
the  river's  mouth  :  but  no.  She  lay-to  close  to  the  shore  ;  and, 
after  awhile,  Am.yas  saw  two  boats  pull  in  from  her,  and  vanish 
behind  the  mangroves. 

Sliding  down  a  liane,  he  told  what  he  had  seen.  The  men,  tired 
of  inactivity,  received  the  news  with  a  shout  of  joy,  and  set  to 
\vork  to  make  all  ready  for  their  guests.  Four  brass  swivels,  which 
they  had  brought  up,  were  mounted,  fixed  in  logs,  so  as  to  com- 
mand the  path  ;  the  musketeers  and  archers  clustered  round  them 
with  their  tackle  ready,  and  half-a-dozen  good  marksmen  volun- 
teered into  the  cottan-tree  with  their  arquebuses,  as  a  post  whence 
"  a  man  might  have  very  pretty  shooting."  Prayers  followed  as 
a  matter  of  course,  and  dinner  as  a  matter  of  course  also  ;  but 
two  weary  hours  passed  before  there  was  any  sign  of  the  Span- 
iards. 

Presently  a  wreath  of  white  smoke  curled  up  from  the  swamp, 
and  then  the  report  of  a  caliver.  Then,  amid  the  growls  of  the 
English,  the  Spanish  flag  ran  up  above  the  trees,  and  floated — 
horrible  to  behold — at  the  mast-head  of  the  Rose.  They  were 
signalling  the  ship  for  more  hands  ;  and,  in  effect,  a  third  boat 
soon  pushed  off  and  vanished  into  the  forest. 

Another  hour,  during  which  the  men  had  thoroughly  lost  their 
temper,  but  not  their  hearts,  by  waiting  ;  and  talked  so  loud,  and 
strode  up  and  down  so  wildly,  that  Aniyas  had  to  warn  them  that 
there  was  no  need  to  betray  themselves  ;  that  the  Spaniards  might 
not  find  them  after  all  ;  that  they  might  pass  the  stockade  close 
without  seeing  it ;  that  unless  they  hit  gff  the  track  at  puce,  they 


32 S  WESTWARD  no  ! 

■would  probably  return  to  their  ship  for  the  present;  and  exacted 
a  promise  from  them  that  they  would  be  perfectly  silent  till  he 
gave  the  word  to  fire. 

Which  wise  commands  had  scarcely  passed  his  lips,  when,  in 
the  path  below,  glanced  the  headpiece  of  a  Spanish  soldier,  and 
then  another  and  another. 

_  "  Fools  !  "  whispered  Amyas  to  Gary  ;   "  they  are  coming  up  in 
single  file,  rushing  on  their  own  death.     Lie  close,  men  !" 

The  path  was  so  narrow  that  two  could  seldom  come  up  abreast, 
and  so  steep  that  the  enemy  had  much  ado  to  struggle  and 
stumble  upwards.  The  men  seemed  half  unwilling  to  proceed, 
and  hung  back  more  than  once  ;  but  Amyas  could  hear  an  au- 
thoritative voice  behind,  and  presently  there  emerged  to  the  front, 
"word  in  hand,  a  figure  at  which  Amyas  and  Gary  both  started. 

"  Is  it  he  ?  " 

"  Surely  I  know  those  legs  among  a  thousand,  though  they  are 
in  armor." 

"  It  is  my  turn  for  him,  now  Gary,  remember  !  Silence,  silence, 
men  ! " 

The  Spaniards  seemed  to  feel  that  they  were  leading  a  forlorn 
hope.  Don  Guzman  (for  there  was  little 'doubt  that  it  was  he)  had 
much  ado  to  get  them  on  at  all. 

"  The  fellows  have  heard  how  gently  we  handled  the  Guayra 
squadron,"  whispers  Gary,  "and  have  no  wish  to  become  fellow- 
martyrs  with  the  captain  of  the  Madre  Dolorosa." 

At  last  the  Spaniards  get  up  the  steep  slope  to  within  forty  yards 
of  the  stockade,  and  pause,  suspecting  a  trap,  and  puzzled  by  the 
complete  silence.  Amyas  leaps  on  the  top  of  it,  a  white  flag  in  his 
hand  ;  but  his  heart  beats  so  fiercely  at  the  sight  of  that  hated 
figure,  that  he  can  hardly  get  out  the  words — 

"  Don  Guzman,  the  quarrel  is  between  you  and  me,  not  between 
your  men  and  mine.  I  would  have  sent  in  a  challenge  to  you 
at  La  Guayra,  but  you  were  away  ;  I  challenge  you  now  to  single 
combat." 

"  Lutheran  dog,  I  have  a  halter  for  you,  but  no  sword  !  As  you 
served  us  at  Smerwick,  we  will  serve  you  now.  Pirate  and  rav- 
isher  ;  you  and  yours  shall  share  Oxenham's  fate,  as  you  have 
copied  his  crimes,  and  learn  what  it  is  to  set  foot  unbidden  on  the 
dominions  of  the  King  of  Spain." 

"  The  devil  take  you  and  the  King  of  Spain  together  !  "  shouts 
Amyas,  laughing  loudly.  "  This  ground  belongs  to  him  no  more 
than  it  does  to  me,  but  to  the  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  whose  name  I 
have  taken  as  lawful  possession  of  it  as  you  ever  did  of  Garraccas. 
Fire  men  !  and  God  defend  the  right  !  " 

Both  parties  obeyed  the  order  ;  Amyas  dropped  down  behind 
the  stockade  in  time  to  let  a  caliver  bullet  whistle  over  his  head  ; 
and  the  Spaniards  recoiled  as  the  narrow  face  of  the  stockade 
burst  into  one  blaze  of  musketry  and  swivels,  raking  their  long 
array  from  front  to  rear. 

The  front  ranks  fell  over  each  other  in  heaps  ;  the  rear  ones 


WESTWARD  I/O  f  329 

turned  and  ran  ;  overtaken,  nevertheless,  by  the  English  bullets 
and  arrows,  which  tumbled  them  headlong  down  the  steep  path, 

"Out,  men,  and  charge  them.  See!  the  Bonis  running  like 
the  rest!"  And  scrambling  over  the  abattis,  Amyas  and  about 
thirty  followed  them  fast  ;  for  he  had  hope  of  learning  from  some 
prisoner  his  brother's  fate. 

Amyas  was  unjust  in  his  last  words.  Don  Guzman,  as  if  by 
miracle,  had  been  only  slightly  wounded  ;  and  seeing  his  men 
run,  had  rushed  back  and  tried  to  rally  them,  but  was  borne 
away  by  the  fugitives. 

However,  the  Spaniards  were  out  of  sight  among  the  thick 
"bushes  before  the  English  could  overtake  them  ;  and  Amyas 
afraid  lest  they  should  rally  and  surround  his  small  party,  with- 
drew sorely  against  his  will,  and  found  in  the  pathway  fourteen 
Spaniards,  all  but  dead.  For  one  of  the  wounded,  with  more 
courage  than  wisdom,  had  tired  on  the  English  as  he  lay  ;  and 
Amyas's  men,  whose  blood  was  maddened  both  by  their  desper- 
ate situation,  and  the  frightful  stories  of  the  rescued  galley-slaves, 
had  killed  them  all  before  their  captain  could  stop  them. 

"Are  you  mad.''  "  cries  Amyas,  as  he  strikes  up  one  fellow's 
sword.     "  Will  you  kill  an  Indian  ?  " 

And  he  drags  out  of  the  bushes  an  Indian  lad  of  sixteen,  who, 
slightly  wounded,  is  crawling  away  like  a  copper  snake  along  the 
ground. 

"  The  black  vermin  has  sent  an  arrow  through  my  leg  ;  and 
poisoned  too,  most  like." 

"  God  grant  not :  but  an  Indian  is  worth  his  weight  in  gold  to 
us  now,"  said  Amyas,  tucking  his  prize  under  his  arm  like  a 
bundle.  The  lad,  as  soon  as  he  saw  thiere  was  no  escape,  resigned 
himself  to  his  fate  with  true  Indian  stoicism,  was  brought  in,  and 
treated  kindly  enough,  but  refused  to  eat.  For  which,  after  much 
questioning,  he  gave  as  a  reason,  that  he  would  make  them  kill 
him  at  once  ;  for  fat  him  they  should  not  ;  and  gradually  gave 
them  to  understand  that  the  English  always  (so  at  least  the  Span- 
iards said)  fatted  and  ate  their  prisoners  like  the  Caribs  ;  and  till 
he  saw  them  go  out  and  bury  the  bodies  of  the  Spaniards,  nothing 
would  persuade  him  that  the  corpses  were  not  to  be  cooked  for 
supper. 

However,  kind  words  kind  looks,  and  the  present  of  that  inesti- 
mable treasure — a  knife,  brought  him  to  reason  ;  and  he  told 
Amyas  that  he  belonged  to  a  Spaniard  who  had  an  "  encomienda" 
of  Indians  some  fifteen  miles  to  the  south-west  ;  that  he  had  fled 
from  his  master,  and  lived  by  hunting  for  some  months  past  ;  and 
having  seen  the  ship  where  she  lay  moored,  and  boarded  her  in 
hope  of  plunder,  had  been  surprised  therein  by  the  Spaniards,  and 
forced  by  threats  to  go  with  them  as  a  guide  in  their  search  for 
the  English.  But  now  came  a  part  of  his  story  which  filled  the 
soul  of  Amyas  with  delight.  He  was  an  Indian  of  the  Llanos,  or 
great  savannahs  which  lay  to  the  southward  beyond  the  mountains, 
and  had  actually  been  upon  the  Orinoco.     He  had  been  stolen  as 


^^o  WECTWAJ^D  HO! 

a  boy  by  some  Spaniards,  who  had  gone  down  (as  was  the  fashion 
of  the  Jesuits  even  as  late  as  1790)  for  the  pious  purpose  of  convert- 
ing the  savages  by  the  simple  process  of  catching,  baptizing,  and 
making  servants  of  those  whom  they  could  carry  off",  and  murder- 
ing those  who  resisted  their  gentle  method  of  salvation.  Did  he 
know  the  way  back  again  ?  Who  could  ask  such  a  question  of  an 
Indian  ?  And  the  lad's  black  eyes  flashed  fire,  as  Amyas  offered 
him  liberty  and  iron  enough  for  a  dozen  Indians,  if  he  would  lead 
them  though  the  passes  of  the  mountains,  and  southward  to  the 
mighty  river,  where  lay  their  golden  hopes.  Hernando  de  Serpa, 
Amyas  knew,  had  tried  the  same  course,  which  was  supposed  to 
be  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  leagues,  and  failed,  being  over- 
thrown utterly  by  the  Wikiri  Indians  ;  but  Amyas  knew  enough 
of  the  Spaniards' brutal  method  of  treating  those  Indians,  to  be 
pretty  sure  that  they  had  brought  that  catastrophe  upon  themselves, 
and  that  he  might 'avoid  it  well  enough  by  that  common  justice 
and  mercy  toward  the  savages  which  he  had  learned  from  his  in- 
comparable tutor,  Francis  Drake. 

Now  was  the  time  to  speak  ;  and,  assembling  his  men  around 
him,  Amyas  opened  his  whole  heart,  simply  and  manfully.  This 
was  their  only  hope  of  safety.  Some  of  them  had  murmured  that 
they  should  perish  like  John  Oxenham's  crew.  This  plan  was 
rather  the  only  way  to  avoid  perishing  like  them.  Don  Guzman 
would  certainly  return  to  seek  them  ;  and  not  only  he,  but  land- 
forces  from  St.  Jago.  Even  if  the  stockade  was  not  forced,  they 
would  be  soon  starved  out  ;  why  not  move  at  once,  ere  the  Span- 
iards could  return,  and  begin  a  blockade  ?  As  for  taking  St.  Jago, 
it  was  impossible.  The  treasure  would  all  be  safely  hidden,  and 
the  town  well  prepared  to  meet  them.  If  they  wanted  gold  and 
glor)^  they  must  seek  it  elsewhere.  Neither  was  there  any  use  in 
marching  along  the  coast,  and  trying  the  ports  :  ships  could  out- 
strip them,  and  the  country  was  already  warned.  There  was  but 
this  one  chance  ;  and  on  It  Amyas,  the  first  and  last  time  in  his 
life,  waxed  eloquent,  and  set  forth  the  glory  of  the  enterprise,  the 
service  to  the  queen,  the  salvation  of  heathens,  and  the  certainty 
that,  if  successful,  they  should  win  honor  and  wealth,  and  ever- 
lasting fame,  beyond  that  of  Cortes  or  Pizarro,  till  the  men.  sulky 
at  first,  warmed  every  moment  ;  and  one  old  Pelican  broke  out 
with — 

"Yes,  sir  !  we  didn't  go  round  the  world  with  you  for  nought ; 
and  watched  your  works  and  ways,  which  was  always  those  of  a 
gentleman,  as  you  are — who  spoke  a  word  for  a  poor  fellow  when 
he  was  in  a  scrape,  and  saw  all  you  ought  to  see,  and  nought  that 
you  ought  not.  And  we'll  follow  you,  sir,  all  alone  to  ourselves  ; 
and  let  those  that  know  you  worse  follow  after  when  they're  come 
to  their  right  mind." 

Man  after  man  capped  this  brave  speech  ;  the  minority,  who,  if 
they  liked  little  to  go,  liked  still  less  to  be  left  behind,  gave  in  theii 
consent  perforce  ;  and,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  Amvas  con 
quered,  and  the  plan  was  accepted. 


WESTWARD  HO!  53 1 

"This."  said  Amyas,  "  is  indeed  the  proudest  day  of  my  life  !  I 
have  lost  one  brother,  but  I  have  gained  forescore.  God  do  so  to 
me  and  more  also,  if  I  do  not  deal  with  you  according  to  the  trust 
which  you  have  put  in  me  this  day  !  " 

We,  I  suppose,  are  to  believe  that  we  have  a  right  to  laugh  at 
Amyas's  scheme  as  frantic  and  chimerical.  It  is  easy  to  amuse 
ourselves  with  the  premises,  after  the  conclusion  has  been  found 
for  us.  We  know,  now,  that  he  was  mistaken  :  but  we  have  not 
discovered  his  mistake  for  ourselves,  and  have  no  right  to  plume 
ourselves  on  other  men's  discoveries.  Had  he  lived  in  Amyas's 
days,  we  should  have  belonged  either  to  the  many  wise  men  who 
believed  as  he  did,  or  to  the  many  foolish  men,  who  not  only 
sneered  at  the  story  of  Manoa,  but  at  a  hundred  other  stories, 
which  we  now  know  to  be  true.  Columbus  was  laughed  at  :  but 
he  found  a  new  world,  nevertheless.  Cortes  was  laughed  at  ;  but 
he  found  Mexico.  Pizarro  :  but  he  found  Peru.  I  ask  any  fair 
reader  of  those  two  charming  books,  Mr.  Prescott's  conquest  of 
Mexico  and  his  Conquest  of  Peru,  whether  the  true  wonders  in 
them  described  do  not  outdo  all  the  false  wonders  of  Manoa. 

But  what  reason  was  there  to  think  them  false  ?     One  quarter, 
perhaps,  of  America  had  been  explored,  and  yet  in   that  quarter 
two  empires  had  been  already  found,  in  a  state  of  mechanical, 
military,   and  agricultural  civilization  superior,  in   many  things, 
to  any  nation  of  Europe.     Was  it  not  most  rational   to  suppose 
that  in  the  remaining  three-quarters  similar  empires  existed  ?     If 
a  second  Mexico  had  been  discovered  in  the  mountains  of  Parima, 
and  a  second  Peru  in  those  of  Brazil,  what  right  would  any  man 
have  had  to  wonder  ?     As  for  the  gold  legends,  nothing  was  told 
of  Manoa  which  had  not  been  seen  in  Peru  and   Mexico  by  the 
bodily  eyes  of  men  then  living.     Why  should  not  the  rocks  of  Guiana 
have  been  as  full  of  the  precious  metals  (we  do  not  know  yet  that 
that  they  are  not)  as  the  rocks  of  Peru  and  Mexico   are  known  to 
be  ?     Even  the  details  of  the  story,  its  standing  on  a  lake,  for  in- 
stance, bore  a  probability  with  them.     Mexico  actually  stood  in 
the  centre  of  a  lake — why  should   not  Manoa  ?     The  Peruvian 
worship  centred  round  a  sacred  lake — why  not  that  of  Manoa  ? 
Pizarro  and  Cortes,  again,  were  led   on   to   their  desperate  enter- 
prises by  the  sight  of  small  quantities  of  gold  among  savages,  who 
told  them  of  a  civilized  gold-country  near  at  hand  ;  and  they  found 
that  those  savages  spoke  truth.     Why  was  the  unanimous  report 
of  the  Carib  tribes  of  the  Orinoco  to  be  disbelieved,  when  they  told 
a  similar  tale  !     Sir  Richard  Schomburgk's  admirable  preface  to 
Raleigh's  Guiana  proves,  surely,  that  the  Indians  themselves  were 
deceived,  as  well  as   deceivers.     It  was   known,   again,  that  vast 
quantities   of  the  Peruvian  treasure  had  been  concealed   by  the 
priests,  and  that  members   of  the  Inca  family  had  fled  across  the 
Andes,  and  held  out  against  the  Spaniards.     Barely  fifty  years, 
had  elapsed  since  then  ; — what  more  probable  than  that  this  rem- 
nant of  the   Peruvian   dynasty  and  treasure  still  existed  ?     Even 
ihe  story  of  the  Amrzons,  though  it  may  serve  Hume  as  a  po:Dt 


332  WESTWARD  HO! 

for  his  ungenerous  and  untruthful  attempt  to  make  Raleigh  out 
either  fool  or  villain,  has  come  from  Spaniards,  who  had  with  their 
own  eyes  seen  the  Indian  women  fighting  by  their  husband's  sides, 
and  from  Indians,  who  asserted  the  existence  of  an  Amazonian 
tribe.  What  right  had  Amyas,  or  any  man,  to  disbelieve  the 
story  ?  The  existence  of  the  Amazons  in  ancient  Asia,  and  of 
their  intercourse  with  Alexander  the  Great,  was  then  an  accredited 
part  of  history,  which  it  would  have  been  gratuitous  impertinence: 
to  deny.  And  what  if  some  stories  connected  these  warlike  women 
with  the  Emperor  of  Manoa,  and  the  capital  itself?  This  genera- 
tion ought  surely  to  be  the  last  to  laugh  at  such  a  story,  at  least  as 
long  as  the  Amazonian  guards  of  the  King  of  Dahomey  con- 
tinue to  outvie  the  men  in  that  relentless  ferocity,  with  which 
they  have  subdued  every  neighboring  tribe,  save  the  Christians  of 
Abbeokuta.  In  this  case,  as  in  a  hundred  more,  fact  not  only  out- 
does, but  justifies  imagination  ;  and  Amyas  spoke  common  sense 
when  he  said  to  his  men  that  day — • 

"  Let  fools  laugh  and  stay  at  home.  Wise  men  dare  and  win. 
Saul  went  to  look  for  his  father's  asses,  and  found  a  kingdom  ; 
and  Columbus,  my  men,  was  called  a  madman  for  only  going  to 
seek  China,  and  never  knew,  they  say,  until  his  dying  day,  that  he 
had  found  a  whole  new  world  instead  of  it.  Find  Manoa  ?  God 
only,  who  made  all  things,  knows  what  we  may  find  beside  !  " 

So  underneath  that  giant  ceiba-tree,  those  valiant  men,  reduced 
by  battle  and  sickness  to  some  eighty,  swore  a  great  oath,  and 
kept  that  oath  like  men.  To  search  for  the  golden  city  for  two  full 
years  to  come,  whatever  might  befall  ;  to  stand  to  each  other  for 
weal  or  woe  ;  to  obey  their  officers  to  the  death  ;  to  murmur  pri- 
vately against  no  man,  but  bring  all  complaints  to  a  council  of 
war  ;  to  use  no  profane  oaths,  but  serve  God  daily  with  prayer  ; 
to  take  by  violence  from  no  man,  save  from  their  natural  enemies 
the  Spaniards  ;  to  be  civil  and  merciful  to  all  savages,  and  chaste 
and  courteous  to  all  women  ;  to  bring  all  booty  and  all  food  into 
the  common  stock,  and  observe  to  the  utmost  their  faith  with  the 
adventurers  who  had  fitted  out  the  ship  ;  and  finally,  to  march  at 
sunrise  the  next  morning  toward  the  south,  trusting  in  God  to  be 
their  guide. 

"  It  is  a  great  oath,  and  a  hard  one,"  said  Brimblecombe  ;  "  but 
God  will  give  us  strength  to  keep  it."  And  they  knelt  all  together 
and  received  the  Holy  Communion,  and  then  rose  to  pack  provi- 
sions and  ammunition,  and  lay  down  again  to  sleep  and  to  dream 
that  they  were  sailing  home  up  Torridge  stream — as  Cavendish, 
returning  from  round  the  v/orld,  did  actually  sail  home  up  Thames 
but  five  years  afterwards — "  with  mariners  and  soldiers  clothed 
in  silk,  with  sails  of  damask,  and  topsails  of  cloth  of  gold,  and 
the  richest  prize  which  ever  was  brought  at  one  time  unto  English 
shores." 

The  Cross  stands  upright  in  the  southern  sky.  It  is  the  middle 
of  the  night.     Cary  and  Yeo  glide  silently  up  the  hill  and  into  the 


WESTWARD  HO! 


^Zl 


camp,  and  whisper  to  Amyas  that  they  have  done  the  deed.     The 
sleepers  are  awakened,  and  the  train  sets  forth. 

Upward  and  southward  ever  :  but  whither,  who  can  tell  ?  They 
hardly  think  of  the  whither  ;  but  go  like  sleep-walkers,  shaken 
out  of  one  land  of  dreams,  only  to  find  themselves  in  another  and 
stranger  one.  All  around  is  fantastic  and  unearthly  ;  now  each 
man  starts  as  he  sees  the  figures  of  his  fellows,  clothed  from  head 
to  foot  in  golden  filigree  ;  looks  up,  and  sees  the  yellow  moonlight 
through  the  fronds  of  the  huge  tree-ferns  overhead,  as  through  a 
cloud  of  glittering  lace.  Now  they  are  hewing  their  way  through 
a  thicket  of  enormous  flags  ;  now  through  bamboos  forty  feet 
high  ;  now  they  are  stumbling  over  boulders,  waist-deep  in 
cushions  of  club-moss  ,  now  they  are  struggling  through  shrub- 
berries  of  heaths  and  rhododendrons,  and  woolly  incense-trees, 
where  every  leaf,  as  they  brush  past,  dashes  some  fresh  scent  into 
their  faces,  and 

*'The  winds,  with  musky  wing, 
About  the  cedarn  alleys  fling 
Nard  and  cassia's  balmy  smells." 

Now  they  open  upon  some  craggy  brow,  from  whence  they 
can  see  far  below  an  ocean  of  soft  cloud,  whose  silver  billows, 
girdled  by  the  mountain  sides,  hide  the  lowland  from  their  sight. 
And  from  beneath  the  cloud  strange  voices  rise  ;  the  screams  of 
thousand  night-birds,  and  wild  howls,  which  they  used  at  first  to 
fancy  were  the  cries  of  ravenous  beasts,  till  they  found  them  to 
proceed  from  nothing  fiercer  than  an  ape.  But  what  is  that 
deeper  note,  like  a  series  of  muffled  explosions — arquebuses  fired 
within  some  subterranean  cavern, — the  heavy  pulse  of  which  rolls 
up  through  the  depths  of  the  unseen  forest  }  They  hear  it  now 
for  the  first  time,  but  they  will  hear  it  many  a  time  again  ;  and  the 
Indian  lad  is  hushed,  and  cowers  close  to  them,  and  then  takes 
heart,  as  he  looks  upon  their  swords  and  arquebuses  ;  for  that  is 
the  roar  of  the  jaguar,  "  seekmg  his  meat  from  God." 

But  what  is  that  glare  away  to  the  northward  ?  The  yellow 
moon  is  ringed  with  gay  rainbows  ;  but  that  light  is  far  too  red 
to  be  the  reflection  of  any  beams  of  hers.  Now  through  the  cloud 
rises  a  column  of  black  and  lurid  smoke  ;  the  fog  clears  away 
right  and  left  around  it,  and  shows  beneath,  a  mighty  fire. 

The  men  look  at  each  other  with  questioning  eyes,  each  half 
suspecting,  and  yet  not  daring  to  confess  their  own  suspicions  ; 
and  Amyas  whispers  to  Yeo — 

"  You  took  care  to  flood  the  powder  ?  " 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir,  and  to  unload  the  ordnance  too.  No  use  in  mak- 
ing a  noise  to  tell  the  Spaniards  our  whereabouts." 

Yes  ;  that  glare  rises  from  the  good  ship  Rose.  Amyas,  like 
Cortes  of  old,  has  burnt  his  ship,  and  retreat  is  now  impossible. 
Forward  into  the  unknown  abyss  of  the  New  World,  and  God  be 
with  them  as  they  go  ! 

The  Indian  knows  a  cunning  path  :  it  winds  along  the  highest 


334  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

ridges  of"  the  mountains  ;  but  the  travelling  is  far  more  open  an( 
easy. 

They  have  passed  the  head  of  a  valley  which  leads  down  to  St. 
Yago.  Beneath  that  long  shining  river  of  mist,  which  ends  at  the 
foot  of  the  great  Silla,  lies  (so  says  the  Indian  lad)  the  rich  capital 
of  Venezuela  ;  and  beyond,  the  gold-mines  of  Los  Teques  and 
Baruta,  which  first  attracted  the  founder  Diego  de  Losada  ;  and 
many  a  longing  eye  is  turned  towards  it  as  they  pass  the  saddle 
at  the  valley  head  ;  but  the  attempt  is  hopeless,  they  turn  again 
to  the  left,  and  so  down  towards  the  rancho,  taking  care  (so  the 
prudent  Amyas  had  commanded)  to  break  down,  after  crossing, 
the  frail  rope  bridge  which  spans  each  torrent  and  ravine. 

They  are  at  the  rancho  long  before  daybreak,  and  have  secured 
there,  not  only  fourteen  mules,  but  eight  or  nine  Indians  stolen 
from  off  the  Llanos,  like  their  guide,  who  are  glad  enough  to 
escape  from  their  tyrants  by  taking  service  with  them.  And  now 
southward  and  away,  with  lightened  shoulders  and  hearts  ;  for 
they  are  all  but  safe  from  pursuit.  The  broken  bridges  prevent 
the  news  of  their  raid  reaching  St.  Yago  until  night-fall  ;  and  in 
the  meanwhile,  Don  Guzman  returns  to  the  river  mouth  the  next 
day  to  find  the  ship  a  blackened  wreck,  and  the  camp  empty  ; 
follows  their  trail  over  the  hills  till  he  is  stopped  by  a  broken 
bridge  ;  surmounts  that  difficulty,  and  meets  a  second  ;  his  men 
are  worn  out  with  heat,  and  a  little  afraid  of  stumbling  on  the 
heretic  desperadoes,  and  he  returns  by  land  to  St.  Yago  ;  and 
when  he  arrives  there,  has  news  from  home  which  gives  him  other 
things  to  think  of  than  following  those  mad  Englishmen,  who 
have  vanished  into  the  wilderness.  "  What  need,  after  all,  to 
follow  them  ?  "  asked  the  Spaniards  of  each  other.  "  Blinded  by 
the  devil,  whom  they  serve,  they  rush  on  in  search  of  certain 
death,  as  many  a  larger  company  has  before  them,  and  they  will 
find  it,  and  will  trouble  La  Guayra  no  more  forever."  "  Lutheran 
dogs  and  enemies  of  God,"  said  Don  Guzman  to  his  soldiers, 
"  they  will  leave  their  bones  to  whiten  on  the  Llanos,  as  may 
every  heretic  who  sets  foot  on  Spanish  soil  !  " 

Will  they  do  so,  Don  Guzman  1  Or  wilt  thou  and  Amyas  meet 
again  upon  a  mightier  battlefield,  to  learn  a  lesson  which  neither 
of  you  yet  has  learned  ? 


CHAPTER  XXn. 

THE  INQUISITION  IN  THE  INDIES. 

My  next  chapter  is  perhaps  too  sad  ;  it  shall  be  at  least  as  short 
as  I  can  make  it  ;  but  it  was  needful  to  be  written,  that  readers 
may  judge  fairly  for  themselves  what  sort  of  enemies  the  English 
nation  had  to  face  in  those  stern  days. 

Three  weekshave  passed,  and  the  scene  is  shifted  to  -.x  lonj;  lorv 


WESTWARD  I/O  !  335 

range  of  ceHs  in  a  dark  corridor  in  the  city  of  Carthagena.  The 
door  of  one  is  open  ;  and  within  stands  two  cloaked  figures,  one 
of  whom  we  know.  It  is  Eustace  Leigh.  The  other  is  a  familiar 
of  the  Holy  Office. 

He  holds  in  his  hand  a  lamp,  from  which  the  light  falls  on  a 
bed  of  straw,  and  on  the  sleeping  figure  of  a  man.  The  high 
white  brow,  the  pale  and  delicate  features — them  too  we  know, 
for  they  are  those  of  Frank.  Saved  half-dead  from  the  fury  of  the 
savage  negroes,  he  has  been  reserved  for  the  more  delicate  cruelty 
of  civilized  and  Christian  men.  He  underwent  the  question  but 
this  afternoon  ;  and  now  Eustace,  his  betrayer,  is  come  to  per- 
suade him — or  to  entrap  him  .'*  Eustace  himself  hardly  knows 
whether  of  the  two. 

And  yet  he  would  give  his  life  to  save  his  cousin.  His  life  ? 
He  has  long  since  ceased  to  care  for  that.  He  has  done  what  he 
has  done,  because  it  is  his  duty  ;  and  now  he  is  to  do  his  duty 
once  more,  and  wake  the  sleeper,  and  argue,  coax,  threaten  him 
into  recantation  while  "  his  heart  is  still  tender  from  the  torture," 
so  Eustace's  employers  phrase  it. 

And  yet  how  calmly  he  is  sleeping  !  Is  it  but  a  freak  of  the 
lamplight,  or  is  there  a  smile  upon  his  lips  ?  Eustace  takes  the 
lamp  and  bends  over  him  to  see  ;  and  as  he  bends  he  hears  Frank 
whispering  in  his  dreams  his  mother's  name,  and  a  name  higher 
and  holier  still. 

Eustace  cannot  find  the  heart  to  wake  him. 

"Let  him  rest,"  whispers  he  to  his  companion.  "After  all,  I 
fear  my  words  will  be  of  little  use." 

"  I  fear  so  too,  sir.  Never  did  I  behold  a  more  obdurate  heretic. 
He  did  not  scruple  to  scoff  openly  at  their  holinesses." 

"  Ah  !"  said  Eustace;  "great  is  the  pravity  of  the  human 
heart,  and  the  power  of  Satan  !     Let  us  go  for  the  present." 

"  Where  is  she  ?  " 

"  The  elder  sorceress,  or  the  younger  ?  " 

"  The  younger — the " 

"  The  Sefiora  de  Soto  .''  Ah,  poor  thing  !  One  could  be  sorry 
for  her,  were  she  not  a  heretic."  And  the  man  eyed  Eustace 
keenly,  and  then  quietly  added,  "  She  is  at  present  with  the  notary  ; 
to  the  benefit  of  her  soul,  I  trust " 

Eustace  half  stopped,  shuddering.  He  could  hardly  collect 
himself  enough  to  gasp  out  an  "  Amen  !  " 

"  Within  there,"  said  the  man,  pointing  carelessly  to  a  door  as 
they  went  down  the  corridor.  "  We  can  listen  a  moment,  if  yoU 
like  ;  but  don't  betray  me,  Sefior." 

Eustace  knows  well  enough  that  the  fellow  is  probably  on  the 
watch  to  betray  him,  if  he  shows  any  signs  ot  compunction  ;  at 
least  to  report  faithfully  to  his  superiors  the  slightest  expression 
of  sympathy  with  a  heretic  ;  but  a  horrible  curiosity  prevails  over 
fear,  and  he  pauses  close  to  the  fatal  door.  His  face  is  all  of  a 
flame,  his  knees  knock  together,  his  ears  are  ringing,  his  heart 
bursting  through  his  ribs,  as  he  supports  himself  against  the  wii!l, 


^36  WESTWARD  HO! 

hiding  his  convulsed  face  as  well  as  he  can  from  his   companion. 

A  man's  voice  is  plainly  audible  within  ;  low,  but  distinct. 
The  notary  is  trying  that  old  charge  of  witchcraft,  which  the 
Inquisitors,  whether  to  justify  themselves  to  their  own  consciences, 
or  to  whiten  their  villany  somewhat  in  the  eyes  of  the  mob,  so 
often  brought  against  their  victims.  And  then  Eustace's  heart 
sinks  within  him  as  he  hears  a  woman's  voice  reply,  sharpened 
by  indignation  and  agony — 

"  Witchcraft  against  Don  Guzman  ?  What  need  of  that,  oh, 
God  !  what  need  ?  " 

"  You  deny  it  then,  Senora  ?  we  are  sorry  for  you  ;  but " 

A  confused  choking  murmur  from  the  victim,  mingled  with 
words  which  might  mean  anything  or  nothing. 

"She  has  confessed!"  whispered  Eustace;  "saints,  I  thank 
you  ! — she " 

A  wail  which  rings  through  Eustace's  ears,  and  brain,  and 
heart  !  He  would  have  torn  at  the  door  to  open  it ;  but  his  com- 
panion forces  him  away.  Another,  and  another  wail,  while  the 
wretched  man  hurries  off,  stopping  his  ears  in  vain  against  those 
piercing  cries  which  follow  him,  like  avenging  angels,  through 
the  dreadful  vaults. 

He  escaped  into  the  fragrant  open  air,  and  the  golden  tropic 
moonlight,  and  a  garden  which  might  have  served  as  a  model 
for  Eden  ;  but  man's  hell  followed  into  God's  heaven,  and  still 
those  wails  seemed  to  wring  through  his  ears. 

"  Oh,  misery,  misery-,  misery  !  "  murmured  he  to  himself 
through  grinding  teeth  ;  "  and  I  have  brought  her  to  this  !  I  have 
have  had  to  bring  her  to  it  !  What  else  could  I  ?  Who  dare 
blame  me  ?  And  yet  what  devilish  sin  can  I  have  committed, 
that  requires  to  be  punished  thus  ?  Was  there  no  one  to  be  found 
but  me  ?  No  one  !  And  yet  it  may  save  her  soul.  It  may  bring 
her  to  repentance  !  " 

"  It  may,  indeed  ;  for  she  is  delicate,  and  cannot  endure  much. 
You  ought  to  know  as  well  as  I,  Sefior,  the  merciful  disposition 
of  the  Holy  Office." 

"  I  know  it,  I  know  it,"  interrupted  poor  Eustace,  trembling 
now  for  himself.  "  All  in  love — all  in  love. — A  paternal  chastise- 
ment  " 

"And  the  proofs  of  heresy  are  patent,  beside  the  strong  suspi- 
cion of  enchantment,  and  the  known  character  of  the  elder  sor- 
ceress. You  yourself,  you  must  remember,  Sefior,  told  us  that 
she  had  been  a  notorious  witch  in  England,  before  the  Sefior 
brought  her  hither  as  her  attendant." 

"Of  course  she  was  ;  of  course.  Yes;  there  was  no  othe; 
course  open.  And  though  the  flesh  may  be  weak,  sir,  in  my  case, 
yet  none  can  have  proved  better  to  the  Holy  Office  how  willing  is 
the  spirit  ! " 

And  so  Eustace  departed  ;  and  ere  another  sun  had  set,  he 
had  gone  to  the  principal  of  the  Jesuits  ;  told  him  his  whole  heart. 
or  as   much  of  it,  poor  wretch,  as  he  dare  tell  to  himself ;  and 


WESTWARD  HOI  337 

entreated  to  be  allowed  to  finish  his  novitiate,  and  enter  the  order, 
on  the  understanding  that  he  was  to  be  sent  at  once  back  to 
Europe,  or  anywhere  else  ;  "  Otherwise,"  as  he  said  frankly,  "he 
should  go  mad,  even  if  he  were  not  mad  already."  The  Jesuit, 
who  was  a  kindly  man  enough,  went  to  the  Holy  Office,  and  set- 
tled all  with  the  Inquisitors,  recounting  to  them,  to  set  him  above 
all  suspicion,  Eustace's  past  valiant  services  to  the  Church.  His 
testimony  was  no  longer  needed  ;  he  left  Carthagena  for  Nombre 
that  very  night,  and  sailed  the  next  week  I  know  not  whither. 

I  say,  I  know  not  whither.  Eustace  Leigh  vanishes  hence- 
forth from  these  pages.  He  may  have  ended  as  General  of  his 
Order.  He  may  have  worn  out  his  years  in  some  tropic  forest, 
"  conquering  the  souls "  (including  of  course,  the  bodies)  of 
Indians  ;  he  may  have  gone  back  to  his  old  work  in  England, 
and  been  the  very  Ballard  who  was  hanged  and  quartered  three 
years  afterwards  for  his  share  in  Babington's  villanous  conspiracy  : 
I  know  not.  This  book  is  a  history  of  men  ;  of  men's  virtues  and 
sins,  victories  and  defeats  ;  and  Eustace  is  a  man  no  longer  ;  he 
is  become  a  thing,  a  tool,  a  Jesuit  ;  which  goes  only  where  it  is 
sent,  and  does  good  or  evil  indifferently  as  it  is  bid  ;  which,  by 
an  act  of  moral  suicide,  has  lost  its  soul,  in  the  hope  of  saving  it  ; 
without  a  will,  a  conscience,  a  responsibility  (as  it  fancies),  to  God 
or  man,  but  only  to  "The  Society."  In  a  word,  Eustace,  as  he 
says  himself,  is  "  dead."  Twice  dead,  I  fear.  Let  the  dead  bury 
their  dead.    We  have  no  more  concern  with  Eustace  Leigh. 


CHAPTER  XXin. 

THE  BANKS  OF  THE  META. 

"  My  mariners, 
Souls  that  have  toil'd,  and  wrought,  and  thought  with  me— 
Death  closes  all  :  but  something  ere  the  end, 
Some  work  of  noble  note,  may  yet  be  done, 
Not  unbecoming  men  that  strove  with  gods  !  ' 

Tennyson's  Ulysses. 

Nearly  three  years  are  passed  and  gone  since  that  little  band 
had  knelt  at  evensong  beneath  the  giant  tree  of  Guayra — years  of 
seeming  blank,  through  which  they  are  to  be  tracked  only  by 
scattered  notes  and  mis-spelt  names.  Through  untrodden  hills 
and  forests,  over  a  space  of  some  eight  hundred  miles  in  length 
by  four  hundred  in  breadth,  they  had  been  seeking  for  the  Golden 
City,  and  they  had  sought  it  in  vain.  They  had  sought  it  along  the 
wooded  banks  of  the  Orinoco,  and  beyond  the  roaring  foam- 
world  of  Maypures,  and  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  mighty  Amazon. 
They  had  gone  up  the  streams  even  into  Peru  itself,  and,  had 
trodden  the  cinchona  groves  of  Loxa,  ignorant,  as  all  the  world 
was  then,  of  their  healing  virtues.  They  had  seen  the  virgin 
snoAvs  of  Chimborazo  towering  white  above  the  thunder-cloud. 


3^8  WESTWARD  HO! 

and  the  giant  cone  of  Cotopaxi  blackening  in  its  sullen  wrath, 
before  the  fiery  streams  rolled  down  its  sides.  Foiled  in  their 
search  at  the  back  of  the  Andes,  they  had  turned  eastward  once 
more,  and  plunged  from  the  Alpine  cliffs  into  "  the  green  and 
misty  ocean  of  the  Montana."  Slowly  and  painfully  they  had 
worked  their  way  northward  again,  along  the  eastern  foot  of  the 
inland  Cordillera,  and  now  they  were  bivouacking,  as  it  seems, 
upon  one  of  the  many  feeders  of  the  Meta,  which  flow  down  from 
the  Suma  Paz  into  the  forest-covered  plains.  There  they  sat,  their 
watch-fires  glittering  on  the  stream,  beneath  the  shadow  of  enor- 
mous trees,  Amyas  and  Cary,  Brimblecombe,  Yeo,  and  the  Indian 
lad,  who  has  followed  them  in  all  their  wanderings,  alive  and 
well  ;  but  as  far  as  ever  from  Manoa,  and  its  fairy  lake,  and 
golden  palaces,  and  all  the  wonders  of  the  Indian's  tale.  Again 
and  again  in  their  wanderings  they  had  heard  faint  rumers  of  its 
existence,  and  started  off  in  some  fresh  direction,  to  meet  only  a 
fresh  disappointment,  and  hope  deferred,  which  maketh  sick  the 
heart. 

There  they  sit  at  last— four-and-forty  men  out  of  the  eighty-four 
who  left  the  tree  of  Guayra  :— where  are  the  rest  ? 

'*  Their  bones  are  scatter'd  far  and  wide, 
By  mount,  by  stream,  and  sea." 

Drew,  the  master,  lies  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  five 
brave  fellows  by  him,  slain  in  fight  by  the  poisoned  arrows  of  the 
Indians,  in  a  vain  attempt  to  penetrate  the  mountain-gorges  of 
the  Parima.  Two  more  lie  amid  the  valleys  of  the  Andes,  frozen 
to  death  by  the  fierce  slaty  hail  which  sweeps  down  from  the  con- 
dor's eyrie  ;  four  more  were  drowned  at  one  of  the  rapids  of  the 
Orinoco  ;  five  or  six  more  wounded  men  are  left  behind  at  an- 
other rapid  among  friendly  Indians,  to  be  recovered  when  they 
can  be  :  perhaps  never.  Fever,  snakes,  jaguars,  alligators,  can- 
nibal fish,  electric  eels,  have  thinned  their  ranks  month  by  month, 
and  of  their  march  through  the  primaeval  wilderness  no  track 
remains,  except  those  lonely  graves. 

And  there  the  survivors  sit,  beside  the  silent  stream,  beneath 
the  tropic  moon  ;  sun-dried  and  lean,  but  strong  and  bold  as  ever, 
with  the  quiet  fire  of  English  courage  burning  undimmed  in 
every  eye,  and  the  genial  smile  of  English  mirth  fresh  on  every 
lip  ;  making  a  jest  of  danger  and  a  sport  of  toil,  as  cheerily  as 
when  they  sailed  over  the  bar  of  Bideford,  in  days  which  seem  to 
belong  to  some  antenatal  life.  Their  beards  have  grown  down 
upon  their  breasts;  their  long  hair  is  knotted  on  their  heads,  like 
women's,  to  keep  off  the  burning  sunshine  ;  their  leggings  are  of 
the  skin  of  the  delicate  Guazu-puti  deer  ;  their  shirts  are  patched 
with  Indian  cotton  web  ;  the  spoils  of  jaguar,  puma,  and  ape  hang 
from  their  shoulders.  Their  ammunition  is  long  since  spent,  their 
muskets,  spoilt  by  the  perpetual  vapor-bath  of  the  steaming  woods, 
are  left  behind  as  useless  in  a  cave  by  some  cataract  of  the 
Orinoco  :  but  their  swords  are  bright  and  terrible  as  ever ;  and 


WESTWAJ^D  HO! 


339 


they  carr)'-  bows  of  a  strength  which  no  Indian  arm  can  bend,  and 
arrows  pohited  with  the  remnants  of  their  armor  ;  many  of  them, 
too,  are  armed  with  the  pocuna  or  blowgun  of  the  Indians — more 
deadly,  because  more  silent,  than  the  ii rearms  which  they  have 
left  behind  them.  So  they  have  wandered,  and  so  they  will  wan- 
der still,  the  lords  of  the  forest  and  its  beasts  ;  terrible  to  all  hostile 
Indians,  but  kindly,  just,  and  generous  to  all  who  will  deal  faith- 
fully with  them  ;  and  many  a  smooth-chinned  Carib  and  Ature, 
Solimo  and  Guahiba,  recounts  with  wonder  and  admiration  the 
righteousness  of  the  bearded  heroes,  who  proclaimed  themselves 
the  deadly  foes  of  the  faithless  and  murderous  Spaniard,  and 
spoke  to  them  of  the  great  and  good  queen  beyond  the  seas,  who 
would  send  her  warriors  to  deliver  and  avenge  the  oppressed 
Indian. 

The  men  are  sleeping  among  the  trees,  some  on  the  ground, 
and  some  in  grass-hammocks  slung  between  the  stems.  All  is 
silent,  save  the  heavy  plunge  of  the  tapir  in  the  river,  as  he  tears 
up  the  water-weeds  for  his  night's  repast.  Sometimes,  indeed, 
the  jaguar,  as  he  climbs  from  one  tree-top  to  another  after  his 
prey,  wakens  the  monkeys  clustered  on  the  boughs,  and  they  again 
arouse  the  birds,  and  ten  minutes  of  unearthly  roars,  howls, 
shrieks,  and  cacklings  make  the  forest  ring  as  if  all  Pandemonium 
had  broke  loose  ;  but  that  soon  dies  away  again  ;  and,  even  while 
it  lasts,  it  is  too  common  a  matter  to  awaken  the  sleepers,  much 
less  to  interrupt  the  council  of  war  which  is  going  on  beside  the 
watch-fire,  between  the  three  adventurers  and  the  faithful  Yeo. 
A  hundred  times  have  they  held  such  a  council,  and  in  vain  ;  and, 
for  aught  they  know,  this  one  will  be  as  fruitless  as  those  which 
have  gone  before  it.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  more  solemn  one  than 
usual  ;  for  the  two  years  during  which  they  had  agreed  to  search 
for  Manoa  are  long  past,  and  some  new  place  must  be  determined 
on,  unless  they  intend  to  spend  the  rest  of  their  lives  in  that  green 
wilderness. 

"Well,"  says  Will  Cary,  taking  his  cigar  out  of  his  mouth,  "at 
least  we  have  got  something  out  of  those  last  Indians.  It  is  a 
comfort  to  have  a  puff  at  tobacco  once  more,  after  three  weeks' 
fasting." 

"For  me,"  said  Jack  Brimblccombe,  "Heaven  forgive  me! 
but  when  I  get  the  magical  leaf  between  my  teeth  again,  I  feel 
tempted  to  sit  as  still  as  a  chimney,  and  smoke  till  my  dying  day, 
without  stirring  hand  or  foot." 

"  Then  I  shall  forbid  you  tobacco,  Master  Parson," said  Amyas  ; 
"for  v/e  must  be  up  and  away  again  to-morrow.  We  have  been 
idling  here  three  mortal  days,  and  nothing  done." 

"Shall  we  ever  do  anything?  I  think  the  gold  of  Manoa  is 
like  the  gold  which  lies  where  the  rainbow  touches  the  ground, 
always  a  field  beyond  you." 

Amyas  was  silent  awhile,  and  so  were  the  rest.  There  was  no 
denying  that  their  hopes  were  all  but  gone.     In  the  immense  cir. 


^^O  WESTWARD  HO! 

cuit  which  they  had  made,  they  had  met  with  nothing-  but  disat>- 
pointment. 

"  There  is  but  one  more  chance,"  said  he  at  length,  "  and  that 
is,  the  mountains  to  the  east  of  the  Orinoco,  where  we  failed  the 
first  time.  The  Incas  may  have  moved  on  to  them  when  they 
escaped." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  said  Carv ;  "they  would  so  put  all  the  forests, 
beside  the  Llanos  and  half-a  dozen  great  rivers,  between  them 
and  those  dogs  of  Spaniards." 

"  Shall  we  try  it  once  more  ?  "  said  Amyas.  "  This  river  ought 
to  run  into  the  Orinoco  ;  and  once  there,  we  are  again  at  the  very 
foot  of  the  mountains.     What  say  you,  Yeo  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  but  mind,  your  worship,  that  when  we  came  up  the 
Orinoco,  the  Indians  told  us  terrible  stories  of  those  mountains, 
how  far  they  stretched,  and  how  difficult  they  were  to  cross,  by 
reason  of  the  cliffs  aloft,  and  the  thick  forests  in  the  valleys.  And 
have  we  not  lost  five  good  men  there  already  ?  " 

"What  care  we?  No  forests  can  be  thicker  than  those  we 
have  bored  through  already  ;  why,  if  one  had  had  but  a  tail,  like 
a  monkey,  for  an  extra  warp,  one  might  have  gone  a  hundred 
miles  on  end  along  the  tree-tops,  and  found  it  far  pleasanter  walk- 
ing than  tripping  in  withes,^  and  being  eaten  up  with  creeping 
things,  from  morn  till  night." 

"  But  remember,  too,"  said  Jack,  "  how  they  told  us  to  beware 
of  the  Amazons." 

"  What,  Jack,  afraid  of  a  parcel  of  women  ?  " 
"Why  not  ?  "  said  Jack,  "  I  wouldn't  run  from  a  man  as  you 
know  ;  but  a  woman— it's  not  natural,  like.  They  must  be  witches 
or  devils.  See  how  the  Caribs  feared  them.  And  there  were 
men  there  without  necks,  and  with  their  eyes  in  their  breasts, 
they  said.  Now  how  could  a  Christian  tackle  such  customers  as 
them  ?  " 

"  He  couldn't  cut  off  their  heads,  that's  certam  ;  but,  I  suppose, 
a  poke  in  the  ribs  will  do  as  much  for  them  as  for  their  neigh- 
bors." 

"  Well,"  said  Jack  ;  "  if  I  fight,  let  me  fight  honest  flesh  and 
blood,  that's  all,  and  none  of  these  outlandish  monsters. ^^  How  do 
you  know  but  that  they  are  invulnerable  by  Art-magic  ?  " 

"  How  do  you  know  that  they  are  ?  And  as  for  the  Amazons," 
said  Gary,  "  woman's  woman,  all  the  world  over.  I'll  bet  that 
you  may  wheedle  them  round  with  a  compliment  or  two,  just  as 
if  they  were  so  many  burghers'  wives.  Pity  I  have  not  a  court- 
suit  and  a  Spanish  hat.  I  would  have  taken  an  orange  in  one 
hand  and  a  handkerchief  in  the  other,  gone  all  alone  to  tnem  as 
ambassador,  and  been  in  a  week  as  great  with  Queen  Blackface- 
alinda  as  ever  Raleigh  is  at  Whitehall.' 

"  Gentlemen  !  "  said  Yeo,  "where  you  go,  I  go  ;  and  not  only 
I,  but  every  man  of  us,  I  doubt  not  ;  but  we  have  lost  now  haL 
our  company,  and  spent  our  ammunition,  so  we  are  no  better 
men,  were  it  not  for  our  swords,  than  these  naked  heathens  round 


WESTWAKD  HO!  34.I 

us.  Now  it  was,  as  you  all  know,  by  the  wonder  and  noise  of 
iheir  ordnance  (let  alone  their  horses,  which  is  a  break-neck  beast 
I  put  no  faith  in)  that  both  Cortes  and  Pizarro,  those  imps  of 
Satan,  made  their  golden  conquests,  with  which  if  we  could  have 
astounded  the  people  of  Manoa " 

"  Having  first  found  the  said  people,"  laughed  Amyas.  "  It  is 
like  the  old  fable.  Every  craftsman  thinks  his  own  trade  the  one 
pillar  of  the  commonweal." 

"  Well  !  your  worship,"  quoth  Yeo,  "  it  may  be  that  being  a 
gunner  I  overprize  guns.  But  it  don't  need  slate  and  pencil  to  dc 
this  sum — Are  forty  men  without  shot  as  good  as  eighty  with  ?  " 

"Thou  art  right,  old  fellow,  right  enough,  and  I  was  only  jest- 
ing for  very  sorrow,  and  must  needs  laugh  about  it  lest  I  weep 
about  it.  Our  chance  is  over,  I  believe,  though  I  dare  not  confess 
as  much  to  the  men." 

"Sir,"  said  Yeo,  "  I  have  a  feeling  on  me  that  the  Lord's  hand 
is  against  us  in  this  matter.  Whether  he  means  to  keep  this 
wealth  for  worthier  men  than  us,  or  whether  it  is  His  will  to  hide 
this  great  city  in  the  secret  place  of  His  presence  from  the  strife 
of  tongues,  and  so  to  spare  them  from  sinful  man's  covetousness, 
and  England  from  that  sin  and  luxury  which  I  have  seen  gold 
beget  among  the  Spaniards,  I  know  not,  sir  ;  for  who  knoweth 
the  counsels  of  the  Lord  ?  But  I  have  long  had  a  voice  within 
which  saith,  '  Salvation  Yeo,  thou  shalt  never  behold  the  Golden 
City  which  is  on  earth,  where  heathens  worship  sun  and  moon 
and  the  hosts  of  heaven  ;  be  content,  therefore,  to  see  that  Golden 
City  v/hich  is  above,  where  is  there  neither  sun  nor  moon,  but  the 
Lord  God  and  the  Lamb  are  the  light  thereof.'" 

There  was  a  simple  majesty  about  old  Yeo  when  he  broke  forth 
in  utterances  like  these,  which  made  his  comrades,  and  even 
Amyas  and  Gary,  look  on  him  as  Mussulmans  look  on  madmen, 
as  possessed  of  mysterious  knowledge  and  flashes  of  inspiration  ; 
and  Brimblecombe  whose  pious  soul  looked  up  to  the  old  hero 
with  a  reverence  which  had  overcome  all  his  Churchman's  pre- 
judices against  Anabaptists,  answered  gently, — 

"  Amen  !  amen  !  my  masters  all  :  and  it  has  been  on  my  mind, 
too,  this  long  time,  that  there  is  a  providence  against  our  going 
east  ;  for  see  how  this  two  years  past,  whenever  we  have  pushed 
eastward,  we  have  fallen  into  trouble,  and  lost  good  men  ;  and 
whenever  we  went  Westward-ho,  we  have  prospered  ;  and  do 
prosper  to  this  day." 

"And  what  is  more,  gentlemen,"  said  Yeo,  "  if,  as  Scripture 
says,  dreams  are  from  the  Lord,  I  verily  believe  mine  last  night 
came  from  Him  ;  for  as  I  lay  by  the  fire,  sirs,  I  heard  my  little 
maid's  voice  calling  of  me,  as  plain  as  ever  I  heard  in  my  life; 
and  the  very  same  words,  sirs,  which  she  learned  from  me  and 
my  good  comrade  William  Penberthy  to  say,  '  Westward-ho  ! 
jolly  mariners  all  !  '  a  bit  of  an  ungodly  song,  my  masters,  which 
we  sang  in  our  wild  days  ;  but  she  stood  and  called  it  as  plain 
as   ever   mortal   ears  heard,    and    galled   again   till   I   answered, 


^t,  WESTWARD  HO! 

•  Coming  ;  my  maid,   coming  ! "  and    after   that  the   dear  chuck 
c<klled  no  more — God  grant  I  find  her  yet ! — and  so  I  woke." 

Gary  had  long  since  given  up  laughing  at  Yeo  about  the  "  little 
maid  ;  "  and  Amyas  answered, — 

"  So  let  it  be,  Yeo,  if  the  rest  agree  :  but  what  shall  we  do  to 
the  westward  ?  " 

"  Do  ?  "  said  Gary  ;  "  there's  plenty  to  do  ;  for  there's  plenty  oi 
gold  and  plenty  of  Spaniards,  too,  they  say,  on  the  other  side  of  these 
mountains  :  so  that  our  swords  will  not  rust  for  lack  of  adven- 
tures, my  gay  knights-errant  all." 

So  they  chattered  on  ;  and  before  night  was  half  through  a  plan 
was  matured,  desperate  enough^ — but  what  cared  those  brave 
hearts  for  that  ?  They  would  cross  the  Gordillera  to  Santa  F^_  de 
Bogota,  of  the  wealth  whereof  both  Yeo  and  Amyas  had  often 
heard  in  the  Pacific  :  try  to  seize  either  the  town  or  some  convoy 
of  gold  going  from  it  ;  make  for  the  nearest  river  (there  was  said 
to  be  a  large  one  which  ran  northward  thence),  build  canoes,  and 
try  to  reach  the  Northern  Sea  once  more  ;  and  then,  if  Heaven 
prospered  them,  they  might  seize  a  Spaiiish  ship,  and  make  their 
way  home  to  England,  not,  indeed,  with  the  wealth  of  Manoa, 
but  with  a  fair  booty  of  Spanish  gold.  This  was  their  new  dream, 
Jt  was  a  v/ild  one  :  but  hardly  more  wild  than  the  one  which 
Drake  had  fulfilled,  and  not  as  wild  as  the  one  which  Oxenham 
might  have  fulfilled,  but  for  his  own  fatal  folly. 

Amyas  sat  watching  late  that  night,  sad  of  heart.  To  give  up 
the  cherished  dream  of  years  was  hard  ;  to  face  his  mother,  harder 
still  :  but  it  must  be  done,  for  the  men's  sake.  So  the  new  plan 
was  proposed  next  day,  and  accepted  joyfully.  They  would  go  up 
to  the  mountains  and  rest  awhile  ;  if  possible,  bring  up  the 
wounded  whom  they  had  left  behind  ;  and  then,  try  a  new  ven- 
ture, with  nev»?  hopes,  perhaps  new  dangers  ;  they  were  inured  to 
the  latter. 

They-  started  next  morning  cheerfully  enough,  and  for  three 
hours  or  more  paddled  easily  up  the  glassy  and  windless  reaches, 
between  two  green  flow^er-bespangled  walls  of  forest,  gay  with  in- 
numerable birds  and  insects  ;  while  down  from  the  branches 
which  overhung  the  stream  long  trailers  hung  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  seemed  admiring  in  the  clear  mirror  the  images  of 
their  own  gorgeous  flowers.  River,  trees,  flowers,  birds,  insects, 
— it  was  all  a  fairy-land  ;  but  it  was  a  colossal  one  ;  and  yet  the 
voyagers  took  little  note  of  it.  It  was  now  to  them  an  everyday 
occurence,  to  see  trees  full  two  hundred  feet  high  one  mass  of 
yellow  or  purple  blossom  to  the  highest  twigs,  and  every  branch 
and  stem  one  hanging  garden  of  crimson  and  orange  orchids  or 
vanillas.  Common  to  them  were  all  the  fantastic  and  enormous 
shapes  with  which  Nature  bedecks  her  robes  beneath  the  fierce 
suns  and  fattening  rains  of  the  tropic  forest.  Common  were  forms 
and  colors  of  bircH  and  fish,  and  butterfly,  more  strange  and  bright 
than  ever  opium-eater  dreamed.  The  long  processions  ol 
monkeys,  who   kept  pace  with  them  along  the  tree-tops,  and  pro- 


WESTWARD  HO  !  343 

claimed  their  wonder  in  every  imaginable  whistle,  and  grunt,  and 
howl  had  ceased  tD  move  their  laughter,  as  much  as  the  roar  ol 
the  iaguar  and  the  rustle  of  the  boa  had  ceased  to  move  their 
fear-  and  when  a  brilliant  green  and  rose  colored  hsh,  flat- 
bodied  like  a  bream,  flab-finned  like  a  salmon,  and  saw-toothed 
like  a  shark,  leapt  clean  on  board  of  the  canoe  to  escape  the  rush 
of  the  huge  alligator  (whose  loathsome  snout,  ere  he  could  stop, 
actually  rattled  against  the  canoe  within  a  foot  of  Jack  Brimble-. 
combe's  hand),  Jack,  instead  of  turning  pale,  as  he  had  done  at 
the  sharks  upon  a  certain  memorable  occasion,  cooly  picked  up 
the  fish,  and  said,  "  He's  four  pound  weight !  If  you  can  catch 
*  pirai  '  for  us  like  that,  old  fellow,  just  keep  in  our  wake,  and  we'll 
give  you  the  cleanings  for  wages." 

Yes.  The  mind  of  man  is  not  so  "infinite,"  in  the  vulgar  sense 
of  that  word,  as  people  fancy  ;  and  however  greedy  the  appetite 
for  wonder  may  be,  while  it  remains  unsatisfied  in  everyday  Euro- 
pean life,  it  is  as  easily  satiated  as  any  other  appetite,  and  then 
leaves  the  senses  of  its  possessor  as  dull  as  those  of  a  city  gour- 
mand after  a  Lord  Mayor's  feast.  Only  the  highest  minds,— our 
Humboldts,  and  Bonplands,  and  Schomburgks  (and  they  only 
when  quickened  to  an  almost  unhealthy  activity  by  civilization) — 
can  go  on  long  appreciating  where  Nature  is  insatiable,  imperious, 
maddening,  in  her  demands  on  our  admiration.  The  very  power 
of  observing  wears  out  under  the  rush  of  ever  new  objects  ;  and 
the  dizzy  spectator  is  fain  at  last  to  shut  the  eyes  of  his  soul,  and 
take  refuge  (as  West  Indian  Spaniards  do)  in  tobacco  and 
stupidity.  The  man,  too,  who  has  not  only  eyes  but  utterance, — 
what  shall  he  do  where  all  words  fail  him  ?  Superlatives  are  but 
inarticulate,  after  all,  and  give  no  pictures  even  of  size  any  more 
than  do  numbers  of  feet  and  yards  :  and  yet  what  else  can  we  do, 
but  heap  superlative  on  superlative,  and  cry,  "  Wonderful,  won- 
derful !  and  after  that  wonderful,  past  all  whooping "  ?  What 
Humboldt's  self  cannot  paint,  we  will  not  try  to  daub.  The  voy- 
agers were  in  a  South  American  forest,  readers.  Fill  up  the  mean- 
ing of  those  words,  each  as  your  knowledge  enables  you,  fori  can- 
not do  it  for  you. 

Certainly  those  adventurers  could  not.  The  absence  of  iny 
attempt  at  word-painting,  even  of  admiration  at  the  glorious  things 
which  they  saw,  is  most  remarkable  in  all  early  voyages,  both 
Spanish  and  English.  The  only  two  exceptions  which  I  recollect 
are  Columbus— (but  then  all  was  new,  and  he  was  bound  to  tell 
what  he  had  seen) — and  Raleigh  ;  the  two  most  gifted  men,  per- 
haps, with  the  exception  of  Humboldt,  who  ever  set  foot  in  tropi- 
cal America  ;  but  even  they  dare  nothing  but  a  few  feeble  hints  in 
passing.  Their  souls  had  been  dazzled  and  stunned  by  a  great 
glory.  Coming  out  of  our  European  Nature  into  that  tropic  one, 
they  had  felt  like  Plato's  men,  bred  in  the  twilight  cavern,  and 
then  suddenly  turned  round  to  the  broad  blaze  ofday  ;  they  had 
seen  things  awful  and  unspeakable  :  why  talk  of  them,  except  t<j 
say  with  the  Turks,  "  God  is  great !  " 


344  IVESTlVAKDHOt 

So  it  was  with  tiiese  men.  Among  the  higher-hearted'of  them, 
the  grandeur  and  the  glory  around  had  attuned  their  spirits  to 
itself,  and  kept  up  in  them  a  lofty,  heroical,  reverent  frame  of  mind  ; 
but  they  knew  as  little  about  the  trees  and  animals  in  an  "  artistic" 
or  "critical  "  point  of  view,  as  in  a  scientific  one.  This  tree  the 
Indians  called  one  unpronounceable  name,  and  it  made  good 
bows  ;  that,  some  other  name,  and  it  made  good  canoes  ;  of  that, 
you  could  eat  the  fruit  ;  that,  produced  the  caoutchouc  gum,  use- 
ful for  a  hundred  matters  ;  that,  was  what  the  Indians  (and  they 
likewise)  used  to  poison  their  arrows  with  ;  from  the  ashes  cf 
those  palm-nuts  you  could  make  --^od  salt  ;  that  tree,  again,  wr.s 
full  of  good  milk  if  you  bored  the  ;  .em  :  they  drank  it,  and  gave 
God  thanks,  and  were  not  astonished.  God  was  great:  but  that 
they  had  discovered  long  before  they  came  into  the  tropics.  Noble 
old  child-hearted  heroes,  with  just  romance  and  superstition 
enough  about  them  to  keep  them  from  that  prurient  hysterical 
wonder  and  enthusiasm,  which  is  simply,  one  often  fears,  a  pro- 
duct of  our  scepticism  !  We  do  not  trust  enough  in  God,  we  do 
not  really  believe  His  power  enough,  to  be  ready,  as  they  were,  as 
every  one  ought  to  be  on  a  God-made  earth,  for  anything  and 
everything  being  possible  ;  and  then,  when  a  wonder  is  discovered, 
we  go  into  ecstasies  and  shrieks  over  it,  and  take  to  ourselves 
credit  for  being  susceptible  of  so  lofty  a  feeling,  true  index,  for- 
sooth, of  a  refined  and  cultivated  mind. 

They  paddled  onward  hour  after  hour,  sheltering  themselves  as 
best  they  could  under  the  shadow  of  the  southern  bank,  while  on 
their  right  hand  the  full  sun-glare  lay  upon  the  enormous  wall  of 
mimosas,  figs,  and  laurels,  which  formed  the  northern  forest, 
broken  by  the  slender  sha^t3  of  bamboo  tufts,  and  decked  with  a 
thousand  gaudy  parasites  ;  bank  upon  bank  of  gorgeous  bloom 
piled  upward  to  the  sky,  till  where  its  outline  cut  the  blue,  flowers 
and  leaves,  too  lofty  to  be  distinguished  by  the  eye,  formed  a 
brokCTi  rainbow  of  all  hues  quivering  in  the  ascending  streams  of 
azure  mist,  until  they  seemed  to  melt  and  mingle  with  the  very 
heavens. 

And  as  the  sun  rose  higher  and  higher,  a  great  stillness  fell  upon 
the  forest.  The  jaguars  and  the  monkeys  had  hidden  themselves 
in  the  darkest  depths  of  the  woods.  The  birds'  notes  died  out  one 
by  one  ;  the  very  butterflies  ceased  their  flitting  over  the  tree- 
tops,  and  slept  with  outspread  wings  upon  the  glossy  leaves,  un- 
distinguishable  from  the  flowers  around  them.  Now  and  thea 
acolibri  whirred  downward  toward  the  water,  hummed  for  a  mo- 
mentaround  some  pendent  flower,  and  then  the  living  gem  was  lost 
in  the  deep  blackness  of  the  inner  wood,  among  tree-trunks  as  huge 
and  dark  as  the  pillars  of  some  Hindoo  shrine  ;  or  a  parrot  swung 
and  screamed  at  them  from  an  overhanging  bow  ;  or  a  thirsty 
monkey  slid  lazily  down  a  liana  to  the  surface  of  the  stream,  dipped 
up  the  water  in  his  tiny  hand,  and  started  chattering  back,  as  his 
eves  met  those  of  some  foul  allio-ator  peering  upward  through  the 
clear  depths  below.     In  shaded  nooks  beneath  the  boughs,  the 


WESTWARD  HO  I  345 

capybaras,  rabbits  as  large  as  sheep,  went  paddling  sleepily  round 
and  round,  thrusting  up  their  unwieldy  heads  among  the  blooms 
of  the  blue  water-lilies  ;  while  black  and  purple  water-hens  ran  up 
and  down  upon  the  rafts  of  floating  leaves.  The  shining  snout  of 
a  fresh-water  dolphin  rose  slowly  to  the  surface  ;  a  jet  of  spray 
whirred  up  ;  a  rainbow  hung  upon  it  for  a  moment  ;  and  the 
black  snout  sank  lazily  again.  Here  and  there,  too,  upon  some 
shallow  pebbly  shore,  scarlet  flamingoes  stood  dreaming  knee- 
deep,  on  one  leg  ;  crested  cranes  pranced  up  and  down,  and,  ad- 
miring their  own  finery  ;  and  ibises  and  egrets  dipped  their  bills 
under  water  in  search  of  prey  :  but  before  noon  even  those  had 
slipped  away,  and  there  reigned  a  stillness  which  might  be  heard 
— such  a  stillness  (to  compare  small  things  with  great)  as  broods 
beneath  the  rich  shadows  of  Amyas's  own  Devon  woods,  or  among 
the  lonely  sweeps  of  Exmoor,  when  the  heather  is  in  flower — a 
stillness  in  which,  as  Humboldt  says,  "  If  beyond  the  silence  we 
listen  for  the  faintest  undertones,  we  detect  a  stifled,  continuous 
hum  of  insects,  which  crowd  the  air  close  to  the  earth  ;  a  confused 
swarming  murmur  which  hangs  round  every  bush,  in  the  cracked 
bark  of  trees,  in  the  soil  undermined  by  lizards,  millepedes,  and 
bees  ;  a  voice  proclaiming  to  us  that  all  Nature  breathes,  that  un- 
der a  thousand  different  forms  life  swarms  in  the  gaping  and 
dusty  earth,  as  much  as  in  the  bosom  of  the  waters,  and  the  air 
which  breathes  around." 

At  last  a  soft  and  distant  murmur,  increasing  gradually  to  a 
heavy  roar,  announced  that  they  were  nearing  some  cataract  ; 
till  turning  a  point,  where  the  deep  alluvial  soil  rose  into  a  low 
cliff  fringed  with  delicate  ferns,  they  came  full  in  sight  of  a  scene 
at  which  all  paused  :  not  with  astonishment,  but  with  something 
very  like  disgust. 

'•  Rapids  again  !  "  grumbled  one.  ••  I  thought  we  had  had 
enough  of  them  on  the  Orinoco." 

"  We  shall  have  to  get  out,  and  draw  the  canoes  overland,  I 
suppose.  Three  hours  will  be  lost,  and  in  the  very  hottest  of  the 
day,  too." 

"  There's  worse  behind  ;  don't  you  see  the  spray  behind  the 
palms  ? " 

"  Stop  grumbling,  my  masters,  and  don't  cry  out  before  you  are 
hurt.  Paddle  right  up  to  the  largest  of  those  islands,  and  let  us 
look  about  us." 

In  front  of  them  was  a  snow-white  bar  of  raging  foam,  some 
ten  feet  high,  along  which  were  ranged  three  or  four  islands  of 
black  rock.  Each  was  crested  with  a  knot  of  lofty  palms,  whose 
green  tops  stood  out  clear  against  the  bright  sky,  while  the  lower 
half  of  their  stems  loomed  hazy  through  a  luminous  veil  of  rain- 
bowed  mist.  The  banks  right  and  left  of  the  fall  were  so  densely 
fringed  with  a  low  hedge  of  shrubs,  that  landing  seemed  all  but 
impossible  ;  and  their  Indian  guide,  suddenly  looking  round  him 
and   whispering,    bade   them   beware   of  savages  ;  and   pointed 


546  WESTWARD  HO! 

to  a  canoe  which  lay  swinging  in  the  eddies  under  the  largest 
island,  moored  apparently  to  the  root  of  some  tree. 

"Silence  all  !  "  cried  Amyas,  "  and  paddle  up  thither  and  seize 
the  canoe.  If  there  be  an  Indian  on  the  island,  we  will  have  speech 
of  him  :  but  mind  and  treat  him  friendly;  and  on  your  lives, 
neither  strike  nor  shoot,  even  if  he  offers  to  fight." 

So,  choosing  a  line  of  smooth  backwater  just  in  the  wake  of  the 
island,  they  drove  their  canoes  up  by  main  force,  and  fastened  them 
safely  by  the  side  of  the  Indian's,  while  Amyas,  always  the  fore- 
most, sprang  boldly  on  shore,  whispering  to  the  Indian  boy  to 
follow  him. 

Once  on  the  island,  Amyas  felt  sure  enough,  that  if  its  wild  ten- 
ant had  not  seen  them  approach,  he  certainly  had  not  heard  them, 
so  deafening  was  the  naise  which  filled  his  brain,  and  seemed  to 
make  the  very  leaves  upon  the  bushes  quiver,  and  the  solid  stone 
beneath  his  feet  to  reel  and  ring.  For  two  hundred  yards  and 
more  above  the  fall  nothing  met  his  eye  but  one  white  waste  of 
raging  foam,  with  here  and  there  a  transverse  dyke  of  rock,  which 
hurled  columns  of  spray  and  surges  of  beaded  water  high  into  the 
air, — strangely  contrasting  with  the  still  and  silent  cliffs  of  green 
leaves  which  walled  the  river  right  and  left,  and  more  strangely 
still  with  the  knots  of  enormous  palms  upon  the  islets  which  reared, 
their  polished  shafts  a  hundred  feet  into  the  air,  straight  and  up- 
right as  masts,  while  their  broad  plumes  and  golden-clustered 
fruit  slept  in  the  sunshine  far  aloft,  the  image  of  the  stateliest 
repose  amid  the   wildest  wrath  of  Nature. 

He  looked  round  anxiously  for  the  expected  Indian  :  but  he  was 
nowhere  to  be  seen  ;  and,  in  the  meanwhile,  as  he  stept  cautiously 
along  the  island,  which  was  some  fifty  yards  in  length  and 
breadth,  his  senses,  accustomed  as  they  were  to  such  sights,  could 
not  help  dwelling  on  the  exquisite  beauty  of  the  scene  ;  on  the 
garden  of  gay  flowers,  of  every  imaginable  form  and  hue,  which 
fringed  every  boulder  at  his  feet,  peeping  out  amid  delicate  fern- 
fans  and  luxuriant  cushions  of  moss  ;  on  the  chequered  shade  of 
the  palms,  and  the  cool  air,  which  wafted  down  from  the  cataracts 
above  the  scents  of  a  thousand  flowers.  Gradually  his  ear  became 
accustomed  to  the  roar,  and,  above  its  mighty  undertone,  he  could 
hear  the  whisper  of  the  wind  among  the  shrubs,  and  the  hum  of 
myriad  insects  ;  while  the  rock  manakin,  with  its  saffron  plumage, 
flitted  before  him  from  stone  to  stone,  calling  cheerily,  and  seem- 
ing to  lead  him  on.  Suddenly,  scrambling  over  the  rocky  flower- 
beds to  the  other  side  of  the  isle,  he  came  upon  a  little  shady  beach, 
which,  beneath  a  bank  of  stone  some  six  feet  high,  fringed  the 
edge  of  a  perfectly  still  and  glassy  bay.  Ten  yards  farther,  the 
cataract  fell  sheer  in  thunder  :  but  a  high  fern-fringed  rock  turned 
its  force  away  from  that  quiet  nook.  In  it  the  water  swung  slowly 
round  and  round  in  glassy  dark-green  rings,  among  which  dimplecl 
a  hundred  gaudy  fish,  waiting  for  every  fly  and  v/orm  which  spun 
and  quivered  on  the  eddy.  Here,  if  anywhere,  was  the  place  to 
find  the  owner  of  the  canoe.     He  leapt  down   upon  the  nebbles 


WESTWARD  HOI  347 

and  as  he  did  so,  a  figure  rose  from  behind  a  neighboring  rock, 
and  met  him  face  to  face. 

It  was  an  Indian  girl  ;  and  yet,  when  he  looked  again, — was  it 
an  Indian  girl  ?  Amyas  had  seen  hundreds  of  those  delicate  dark- 
skinned  daughters  of  the  forest,  but  never  such  a  one  as  this. 
Her  stature  was  taller,  her  limbs  were  fuller  and  more  rounded  ; 
her  complexion,  though  tanned  by  light,  was  fairer  by  far  than 
his  own  sunburnt  face  ;  her  hair,  crowned  with  a  garland  of  white 
(lowers,  was  not  lank,  and  straight,  and  black,  like  an  Indian's, 
but  of  a  rich,  glossy  brown,  and  curling  richly  and  crisply  from 
her  very  temples  to  her  knees.  Her  forehead,  though  low,  was 
upright  and  ample  ;  her  nose  was  straight  and  small ;  her  lips, 
the  lips  of  a  European  ;  her  whole  face  of  the  highest  and  richest 
type  of  Spanish  beauty  ;  a  collar  of  gold  mingled  with  green  beads 
hung  round  her  neck,  and  golden  bracelets  were  on  her  wrists. 
All  the  strange  and  dim  legends  of  white  Indians,  and  of  nations 
of  a  higher  race  than  Carib,  or  Arrowak,  orSolimo,  which  Amyas 
had  ever  heard,  rose  up  in  his  memory.  She  must  be  the  daughter 
of  some  great  cacique,  perhaps  of  the  lost  Incas  themselves— why 
not  ?  And  full  of  simple  wonder,  he  gazed  upon  that  fairy  vision, 
while  she,  unabashed  in  her  free  innocence,  gazed  fearlessly  in  re- 
turn, as  Eve  might  have  done  in  Paradise,  upon  the  mighty 
stature,  and  the  strange  garments,  and  above  all,  on  the  bushy 
beard  and  flowing  yellow  locks,  of  the  Englishman. 

He  spoke  first,  in  some  Indian  tongue,  gently  and  smilingly, 
and  made  a  half-step  forward  ;  but  quick  as  light  she  caught  up 
""rom  the  ground  a  bow,  and  held  it  fiercely  toward  him,  fitted 
with  the  long  arrow,  with  which,  as  he  could  see,  she  had  been 
?>;riking  fish,  for  a  line  of  twisted  grass  hung  from  its  barbed 
head.  Amyas  stopped,  laid  down  his  own  bow  and  sword,  and 
made  another  step  in  advance,  smiling  still,  and  making  all  Indian 
signs  of  amity  :  but  the  arrow  was  still  pointed  straight  at  his 
breast,  and  he  knew  the  mettle  and  strength  of  the  forest  nymphs 
well  enough  to  stand  still  and  call  for  the  Indian  boy  ;  too  proud 
.0  retreat,  but  in  the  uncomfortable  expectation  of  feeling  every 
moment  the  shaft  quivering  between  his  ribs. 

The  boy,  who  had  been  peering  from  above,  leaped  down  to 
them  in  a  moment  ;  and  began,  as  the  safest  method,  grovelling 
on  his  nose  upon  the  pebbles,  while  he  tried  two  or  three  dialects, 
one  of  which  at  last  she  seemed  to  understand,  and  answered  in  a 
tone  of  evident  suspicion  and  anger. 

"  What  does  she  say  ?  " 

••  That  you  are  a  Spaniard  and  a  robber,  because  you  have  a 
beard." 

•'  Tell  her  that  we  are  no  Spaniards,  but  that  we  hate  them  ; 
and  are  come  across  the  great  waters  to  help  the  Indians  to  kill 
them." 

The  boy  translated  his  speech.  The  nymph  answered  by  a  con- 
temptuous shake  of  the  head. 

'•  Tell  her.  that  if  she  will  send  her  tribe  to  us,  we  will  do  them 


2  4  3  ^^"£-s  nvAj^n  ho  l 

no  harm.  We  are  going  over  the  mountains  to  fight  the  Spaniards 
and  we  want  them  to  show  us  the  way." 

The  boy  had  no  sooner  spoken,  than,  nimble  as  a  deer,  the 
nymph  had  sprung  up  the  rocks,  and  darted  between  the  palm- 
stems  to  her  canoe.  Suddenly  she  caught  sight  of  the  English 
boat,  and  stopped  with  a  cry  of  fear  and  rage. 

"  Let  her  pass  !  "  shouted  Amyas,  who  had  followed  her  close. 
"  Push  your  boat  off,  and  let  her  pass.  Boy,  tell  her  to  go  on  : 
they  will  not  come  near  her." 

But  she  hesitated  still,  and  with  arrow  drawn  to  the  head,  faced 
first  on  the  boat's  crew,  and  then  on  Amyas,  till  the  Englishmen 
had  shoved  off  full  twenty  yards. 

Then,  leaping  into  her  tiny  piragua,  she  darted  into  the  wildest 
whirl  of  the  eddies,  shooting  along  with  vigorous  strokes,  while 
the  English  trembled  as  they  saw  the  frail  bark  spinning  and 
leaping  amid  the  muzzles  of  the  alligators,  and  the  huge  dog-toothed 
trout :  but  with  the  swiftness  of  an  arrow  she  reached  the  north- 
ern bank,  drove  her  canoe  among  the  bushes,  and  leaping  from  it, 
darted  through  some  narrow  opening  in  the  bush,  and  vanished 
like  a  dream. 

"  What  fair  virago  have  you  unearthed  ?  "  cried  Gary,  as  they 
toiled  up  again  to  the  landing-place. 

"  Beshrew  me,"  quoth  Jack,  "  but  we  are  in  the  very  land  of  the 
nymphs,  and  I  shall  expect  to  see  Diana  herself  next,  with  the 
moon  on  her  forehead." 

"  Take  care,  then,  where  you  wander  hereabouts.  Sir  John  :  lest 
you  end  as  Actaeon  did,  by  turning  into  a  stag,  and  being  eaten  by 
a  jaguar." 

"  Actaeon  was  eaten  by  his  own  hounds,  Mr.  Gary,  so  the  par- 
allel don't  hold.     But  surely  she  was  a  very  wonder  of  beauty  !  " 

Why  was  it  that  Amyas  did  not  like  this  harmless  talk  ?  There 
had  come  over  him  the  strangest  new  feeling  ;  as  if  that  fair  vision 
was  his  property,  and  the  men  had  no  right  to  talk  about  her, 
no  right  to  have  even  seen  her.  And  he  spoke  quite  surlily  as  he 
said — 

"  You  may  leave  the  women  to  themselves,  my  masters  :  you'll 
have  to  deal  with  the  men  ere  long  :  so  get  your  canoes  up  on  the 
rock,  and  keep  good  watch." 

"  Hillo  !  "  shouted  one  in  a  few  minutes,  "  here's  fresh  fish 
enough  to  feed  us  all  round.  I  suppose  that  young  cat-a-moun- 
tain  left  it  behind  her  in  her  hurry.  I  wish  she  had  left  her  golden 
chains  and  ouches  into  the  bargain," 

"  Well,"  said  another,  "  we'll  take  it  as  fair  payment,  for  hav- 
ing made  us  drop  down  the  current  again  to  let  her  ladyship  pass." 

"  Leave  that  fish  alone,"  said  Amyas  ;  "  it's  none  of  yours." 

"  Why,  sir  1  "  quoth  the  finder  in  a  tone  of  sulky  deprecation. 

"  If  we  are  to  make  good  friends  with  the  heathens,  we  had 
better  not  begin  by  stealing  their  goods.  There  are  plenty  more 
fish  in  the  river  ;  go  and  catch  them,  and  let  the  Indians  have  their 
own." 


WESTWARD  not  34$ 

The  men  were  accustomed  enough  to  strict  and  stern  justice  in 
their  dealings  with  the  savages  :  but  they  could  not  help  looking 
slily  at  each  other,  and  hinting,  when  out  of  sight,  that  the  captain 
seemed  in  a  mighty  fuss  about  his  new  acquaintance. 

However,  they  were  expert  by  this  time  in  all  the  Indian's  fish- 
ing methods  ;  and  so  abundant  was  the  animal  life  which  swarmed 
around  every  rock,  that  in  an  hour  fish  enough  lay  on  the  beach  to 
feed  them  all  ;  whose  forms  and  colors,  names  and  families,  I 
must  leave  to  the  reader  to  guess  from  the  wondrous  pages  of  Sir 
Richard  Schomburgk,  for  I  know  too  little  of  them  to  speak  with- 
out the  fear  of  making  mistakes. 

A  full  hour  passed  before  they  saw  anything  more  of  their  Indian 
neighbors  ;  and  then  from  under  the  bushes  shot  out  a  canoe,  on 
which  all  eyes  were  fixed  in  expectation. 

Amyas,  who  expected  to  find  there  some  remnant  of  a  higher 
race,  was  disappointed  enough  at  seeing  on  board  only  the  usual 
half-dozen  of  low-browed,  dirty  Orsons,  painted  red  with  arnotto  : 
but  a  gray-headed  elder  at  the  stern  seemed,  by  his  feathers  and 
gold  ornaments,  to  be  some  man  of  note  in  the  little  woodland 
community. 

The  canoe  came  close  up  to  the  island  ;  Amyas  saw  that  they 
were  unarmed,  and,  laying  down  his  weapons,  advanced  alone  to 
the  bank,  making  all  signs  of  amity.  They  were  returned  with  in- 
terest by  the  old  man,  and  Amyas's  next  care  was  to  bring  for- 
ward the  fish  which  the  fair  nymph  had  left  behind,  and,  through 
the  medium  of  the  Indian  lad,  to  give  the  cacique  (for  so  he  seemed 
to  be)  to  understand  that  he  wished  to  render  every  one  his  own. 
This  offer  was  received,  as  Amyas  expected,  with  great  applause, 
and  the  canoe  came  alongside  ;  but  the  crew  still  seemed  afraid  to 
land.  Amyas  bade  his  men  throw  the  fish  one  by  one  into  the 
boat ;  and  then  proclaimed  by  the  boy's  mouth,  as  was  his  custom 
with  all  Indians,  that  he  and  his  were  enemies  of  the  Spaniards, 
and  on  their  way  to  make  war  against  them, — and  that  all  which 
they  desired  was  a  peaceable  and  safe  passage  through  the  domin- 
ions of  the  mighty  potentate  and  renowned  warrior  whom  they  be- 
held before  them  ;  for  Amyas  argued  rightly  enough,  that  even  if 
the  old  fellow  aft  was  not  the  cacique,  he  would  be  none  the  less 
pleased  at  being  mistaken  for  him. 

Whereon  the  ancient  worthy,  rising  in  the  canoe,  pointed  to 
heaven,  earth,  and  the  things  under,  and  commenced  a  long  ser- 
mon, in  tone,  manner,  and  articulation,  very  like  one  of  those 
which  the  great  black-bearded  apes  were  in  the  habit  of  preaching 
everv  evening  when  they  could  get  together  a  congregation  of  little 
monkeys  to  listen,  to  the  great  scandal  of  Jack,  who  would  have  it 
that  some  evil  spirit  set  them  on  to  mimic  him  ;  which  sermon, 
being  partly  interpreted  by  the  Indian  lad,  seemed  to  signify,  that 
the  valor  and  justice  of  the  white  men  had  already  reached  the 
ears  of  the  speaker,  and  that  he  was  sent  to  welcome  them  into 
those  regions  by  the  Daughter  of  the  Surti. 


35^ 


WESTWARD  HO  I 


"  The  Daughter  of  the  Sun  !  "  quoth  Amyas  ;  "then  we  have 
found  the  lost  Incas  after  all." 

*•  We  have  found  something,"  said  Gary  ;  "  I  only  hope  it  may 
not  be  a  mare's  nest,  like  many  another  of  our  finding." 

"  Or  an  adder's,"  said  Yeo.     "  We  must  beware  of  treachery." 

*'We  must  beware  of  no  such  thing,"  said  Amyas,  pretty 
sharply.  "Have  I  not  told  you  fifty  times,  that  if  they  see  that 
we  trust  them,  they  will  trust  us,  and  if  they  see  that  we  suspect 
them,  they  will  suspect  us  ?  And  when  two  parties  are  watching 
to  see  who  strikes  the  first  blow,  they  are  sure  to  come  to  fisty- 
cuffs  from  mere  dirty  fear  of  each  other." 

Amyas  spoke  truth  ;  for  almost  every  atrocity  against  savages 
which  had  been  committed  by  the  Spaniards,  and  which  was  in 
later  and  worse  times  committed  by  the  English,  was  wont  to  be 
excused  in  that  same  base  fear  of  treachery.  Amyas's  plans,  like 
that  of  Drake,  and  Cook,  and  all  great  English  voyagers,  had  been 
all  along  to  inspire  at  once  awe  and  confidence,  by  a  frank  and 
fearless  carriage  ;  and  he  was  not  disappointed  here.  He  bade 
the  men  step  boldly  into  their  canoes,  and  follow  the  old  Indian 
whither  he  would.  The  simple  children  of  the  forest  bowed  them- 
selves reverently  before  the  mighty  strangers,  and  then  led  them 
smilingly  across  the  stream,  and  through  a  narrovv-  passage  in  the 
covert,  to  a  hidden  lagoon,  on  the  banks  of  which  stood,  not 
Manoa,  but  a  tiny  Indian  village. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

HOW  AMYAS  WAS  TEMPTED  OF  THE  DEVIL. 

"  Let  us  alone.     What  pleasure  can  we  have 

To  war  with  evil  ?     Is  there  any  peace 

In  always  climbing  up  the  climbing  wave  ? 

AD  things  have  rest,  and  ripen  toward  the  grave 
In  silence  ;  ripen,  fall,  and  cease : 
Give  us  long  rest  or  death,  dark  daath,  or  dreamful  ease." 

Tennysok. 

Humboldt  has  somewhere  a  curious  passage  ;  in  which  looking 
on  some  wretched  group  of  Indians,  squatting  stupidly  round 
tneir  fires,  besmeared  with  grease  and  paint,  and  devouring  ants 
and  clay,  he  somewhat  naively  remarks,  that  were  it  not  for  science, 
which  teaches  us  that  such  is  the  crude  material  of  humanity, 
and  this  the  state  from  which  we  all  have  risen,  he  should  have 
been  tempted  rather  to  look  upon  those  hapless  beings  as  the  last 
degraded  remnants  of  some  fallen  and  dying  race.  One  wishes 
that  the  great  traveller  had  been  bold  enough  to  yield  to  that  temp- 
tation, which  his  own  reason  and  common  sense  presented  to  him 
AS  the  real  explanation  of  the  sad  sight,  instead  of  following  the 
dogmas  of  a  so-called  science,  which  has  not  a  fact  whereon  to  base 
its  wild  notion,  and  must  ignore  a  thousand  facts  in  asserting  it. 


V/ES  TWARD  HO  !  3  5 1 

His  own  good  sense,  it  seems,  coincided  instinctively  with  the 
Bible  doctrine,  that  man  in  a  state  of  nature  is  a  fallen  being,  doom- 
ed to  death — a  view  which  may  be  a  sad  one,  but  still  one  more 
honorable  to  poor  humanity  than  the  theory,  that  we  all  began  as 
some  sort  of  two-handed  apes.  It  is  surely  more  hopeful  to 
believe  than  those  poor  Otomacs  or  Guahibas  were  not  what  they 
ought  to  be,  than  to  believe  that  they  were.  It  is  certainly  more 
complimentary  to  them  to  think  that  they  had  been  somewhat 
nobler  and  more  prudent  in  centuries  gone  by,  than  that  they  were 
such  blockheads  as  to  have  dragged  on,  the  son  after  the  father, 
for  all  the  thousands  of  years  which  have  elapsed  since  man  was 
made,  without  having  had  wit  enough  to  discover  any  better  food 
than  ants  and  clay. 

Our  voyagers,  however,  like  those  of  their  time,  troubled  their 
heads  with  no  such  questions.  Taking  the  Bible  story  as  they 
found  it,  they  agreed  with  Humboldt's  reason,  and  not  with  his 
science  ;  or,  to  speak  correctly,  agreed  with  Humboldt's  self,  and 
not  with  the  shallow  anthropologic  theories  which  happened  to 
be  in  vogue  fifty  years  ago  ;  and  their  new  hosts  were  in  their 
eyes  immortal  souls  like  themselves,  "captivated  by  the  devil  at 
his  will,"  lost  there  in  the  pathless  forests,  likely  to  be  lost  here- 
after. 

And  certainly  facts  seemed  to  bear  out  their  old-fashioned  the- 
ories ;  although  these  Indians  had  sunk  by  no  means  so  low  as 
the  Guahibas  whom  they  had  met  upon  the  lower  waters  of  the 
same  river. 

They  beheld,  on  landing,  a  scattered  village  of  palm-leaf  sheds, 
under  which,  as  usual,  the  hammocks  were  slung  from  tree  to  tree. 
Here  and  there,  in  openings  in  the  forest,  patches  of  cassava  and 
indigo  appeared  ;  and  there  was  a  look  of  neatness  and  comfort 
about  the  little  settlement  superior  to  the  average 

But  now  for  the  signs  of  the  evil  spirit.  Certainly  it  was  no 
good  spirit  who  had  inspired  them  with  the  art  of  music  ;  or  else 
(as  Gary  said)  Apollo  and  Mercury  (if  they  ever  visited  America) 
had  played  their  forefathers  a  shabby  trick,  and  put  thern  off  with 
very  poor  instruments,  and  still  poorer  taste.  For  on  either  side 
of  the  landing-place  were  arranged  four  or  five  stout  fellows,  each 
with  a  tall  drum,  or  long  earthen  trumpet,  swelling  out  in  the 
course  of  its  length  into  several  hollow  balls,  from  which  arose, 
*he  moment  the  strangers  set  foot  on  shore,  so  deafening  a  caco- 
phony of  howls,  and  groans,  and  thumps,  as  fully  to  justify  Yeo's 
remark,  "  They  are  calling  upon  their  devil,  sir."  To  which  Gary 
answered,  with  some  show  of  reason,  that  "  they  were  the  less 
likely  to  be  disappointed,  for  none  but  Sir  Urian  would  ever  come 
to  listen  to  such  a  noise." 

"  And  you  mark,  sirs,"  said  Yeo,  "there's  sonie  feast  or  sacri- 
fice toward.     I'm  not  over-confident  of  them  yet." 

"  Nonsense  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  we  could  kill  every^  soul  of  them 
in  half-an-hour,  and  they  know  that  as  well  as  we." 

But  some  great  demonstration  was  plainly  toward  ;  for  the  chil- 


352 


WESTIVAJ^D  HO! 


dren  of  the  forest  were  arrayed  in  two  lines,  right  and  left  of  the 
open  space,  the  men  in  front,  and  the  women  behind  ;  and  all 
bedizened,  to  the  best  of  their  power,  with  arnotto,  indigo  and 
feathers. 

Next,  with  a  hideous  yell,  leapt  into  the  centre  of  the  space  a 
personage  who  certainly  could  not  have  complained  if  any  one 
had  taken  him  for  the  devil,  for  he  had  dressed  himself  up  care- 
fully for  that  very  intent,  in  a  jaguar-skin  with  a  long  tail,  grinning 
teeth,  a  pair  of  horns,  a  plume  of  black  and  yellow  feathers,  and  a 
huge  rattle. 

'•  Here's  the  Piache,  the  rascal,"  says  Amyas. 

"  Ay,"  says  Yeo,  "  in  Satan's  livery,  and  I've  no  doubt  his  works 
are  according,  trust  him  for  it." 

"  Don't  be  frightened.  Jack,"  says  Gary,  backing  up  Brimble- 
combe  from  behind.  "  It's  your  business  to  tackle  him,  you 
know.     At  him  boldly,  and  he'll  run." 

Whereat  all  the  men  laughed  ;  and  the  Piache,  who  had  intend- 
ed to  produce  a  very  solemn  impression,  hung  fire  a  little.  How- 
ever, being  accustomed  to  get  his  bread  by  his  impudence,  he  soon 
recovered  himself,  advanced,  smote  one  of  the  musicians  over  the 
head  with  his  rattle  to  procure  silence  ;  and  then  began  a  harangue, 
to  which  Amyas  listened  patiently,  cigar  in  mouth. 

"  What's  it  all  about,  boy  }  " 

"  He  wants  to  know  whether  you  have  seen  Amalivaca  on  the 
other  shore  of  the  great  water  ?  " 

Amyas  was  accustomed  to  this  inquiry  after  the  mythic  civilizer 
of  the  forest  Indians,  who,  after  carving  the  mysterious  sculptures 
which  appear  upon  so  many  inland  cliffs  of  that  region,  returned 
again  whence  he  came,  beyond  the  ocean.  He  answered,  as  usual, 
by  setting  forth  the  praises  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

To  which  the  Piache  replied,  tTiat  she  must  be  one  of  Amalivaca's 
seven  daughters,  some  of  whom  he  took  back  with  him,  while  he 
broke  the  legs  of  the  rest  to  prevent  their  running  away,  and  left 
them  to  people  the  forests. 

To  which  Amyas  replied,  that  his  queen's  legs  were  certainly 
not  broken  ;  for  she  was  a  very  model  of  grace  and  activity,  and 
the  best  dancer  in  all  her  dominions  ;  but  that  it  was  more  impor- 
tant to  him  to  know  whether  the  tribe  would  give  them  cassava 
bread,  and  let  them  stay  peacably  on  that  island,  to  rest  a  while 
before  they  went  on  to  fight  the  clothed  men  (the  Spaniards),  on 
the  other  side  of  the  mountains. 

On  which  the  Piache,  after  capering  and  turning  head  over  heels 
with  much  howling,  beckoned  Amyas  and  his  party  to  follow  him  ; 
they  did  so,  seeing  that  the  Indians  were  all  unarmed,  and  evi- 
dently in  the  highest  good  humor. 

The  Piache  went  toward  the  door  of  a  carefully  closed  hut,  and 
crawling  up  to  it  on  all-fours  in  most  abject  fashion,  began  whining 
to  some  one  within. 

"  Ask  what  he  is  about^  boy." 

The  lad  asked  the  old  cacioue.  who  had  accompanied  them,  and 


WESTWARD  n-oT  353 

received  for  answer,  that  he  was  consulting  the  Daughter  of  the 
Sun.  ,      „.     , 

"  Here  is  our  mare's  nest  at  last,"  quoth  Gary,  as  the  Piache 
from  whines  rose  to  screams  and  gesticulations,  and  then  to  vio- 
lent convulsions,  foaming  at  the  mouth,  and  rolling  of  the  eye- 
balls, till  he  suddenly  sank  exhausted,  and  lay  for  dead. 

"  As  good  as  a  stage  play." 

"  The  devil  has  played  his  part,"  says  Jack  ;  "  and  now  by  the 
rules  of  all  plays  Vice  should  come  on." 

"  And  a  very  fair  Vice  it  will  be,  I  suspect ;  a  right  sweet  In- 
iquity, my  Jack  !     Listen." 

And  from  the  interior  of  the  hut  rose  a  low  sweet  song,  at  which 
all  the  simple  Indians  bowed  their  heads  in  reverence  ;  and  the 
English  were  hushed  in  astonishment  ;  for  the  voice  was  not  shrill 
or  guttural,  like  that  of  an  Indian,  but  round,  clear,  and  rich,  like 
a  European's  ;  and  as  it  swelled  and  rose  louder  and  louder, 
showed  a  compass  and  power  which  would  have  been  extraordi- 
nary anywhere  (and  many  a  man  of  the  party,  as  was  usual  in 
musical  old  England,  was  a  good  judge  enough  of  such  a  matter, 
and  could  hold  his  part  right  well  in  glee,  and  catch,  and  rounde- 
lay, and  psalm).  And  as  it  leaped,  and  ran,  and  sank  again,  and 
rose  once  more  to  fall  once  more,  all  but  inarticulate,  yet  perfect 
in  melody,  like  the  voice  of  bird  on  bough,  the  wild  wanderers 
were  rapt  in  new  delight,  and  did  not  wonder  at  the  Indians  as 
they  bowed  their  heads,  and  welcomed  the  notes  as  messengers 
from  some  higher  world.  At  last  one  triumphant  burst,  so  shrill 
that  all  ears  rang  again,  and  then  dead  silence.  The  Piache,  sud- 
denly restored  to  life,  jumped  upright,  and  recommenced  preach- 
ing at  Amyas. 

"  Tell  the  howling  villain  to  make  short  work  of  it,  lad  !  His 
tune  won't  do  after  that  last  one."  , 

The  lad,  grinning,  informed  Amyas  that  the  Piache  signified 
their  acceptance  as  friends  by  the  Daughter  of  the  Sun  ;  that  her 
friends  were  theirs,  and  her  foes  theirs.  Whereon  the  Indians  set 
up  a  scream  of  delight,  and  Amyas,  rolling  another  tobacco  leaf 
up  in  another  strip  of  plantain,  answered, — 

"  Then  let  her  give  us  some  cassava,"  and  lighted  a  fresh  cigar. 

Whereon  the  door  of  the  hut  opened,  and  the  Indians  prostrated 
themselves  to  the  earth,  as  there  came  forth  the  same  fair  aopan- 
tion  which  they  had  encountered  upon  the  island,  but  decked  now 
in  feather-robes,  and  plumes  of  every  imaginable  hue. 

Slowly  and  stately,  as  one  accustomed  to  command,  she  walked 
up  to  Amyas,  glancing  proudly  round  on  her  prostrate  adorers, 
and  pointing  with  graceful  arms  to  the  trees,  the  gardens,  and  the 
huts,  gave  him  to  understand  by  signs  (so  expressive  were  her 
looks,  that  no  words  were  needed)  that  all  was  at  his  service  ; 
after  which,  taking  his  hand,  she  lifted  it  gently  to  her  forehead. 

At  that  sign  of  submission  a  shout  of  rapture  rose  from  the 
crowd  ;  and  as  the  mysterious  maiden  retired  again  to  her  hut, 
they  pressed  round  the  English,  caressing  and  admiring,  pointing 


^5^  WESTWARD  KOI 

with  equal  surprise  to  their  swords,  to  their  Indian  bov/s  and  blow- 
guns,  and  to  the  trophies  of  wild  beasts  with  which  they  were 
clothed  ;  while  women  hastened  off  to  bring  fruit,  and  iiowers, 
and  cassava,  and  (to  Amyas's  great  anxiety;  calabashes  of  intoxi- 
cating drink  ;  and,  to  make  a  long  story  short,  the  Jinglish  sat 
do wif  beneath  the  trees,  and  feasted  mernly,  while  trie  drums  and 
trumpets  made  hideous  music,  and  lithe  young  girls  and  lads 
danced  uncouth  dances,  which  so  scandalized  both  Brimblecombe 
and  Yeo,  that  they  persuaded  Amyas  to  beat  an  early  retreat.  He 
was  willing  enough  to  get  back  to  the  island  while  the  men  were 
still  sober  ;  so  there  were  many  leave-takings  and  promises  of  re- 
turn on  the  morrow,  and  the  party  paddled  back  to  their  island- 
fortress,  racking  their  wits  as  to  who  or  what  the  mysterious  maid 
could  be. 

Amyas,  however,  had  settled  in  his  mind  that  she  was  one  of 
the  lost  Inca  race  ;  perhaps  a  descendant  of  that  very  fair  girl,  vv^ife 
of  the  Inca  Manco,  whom  Pizarro,  forty  years  before,  had,  merely 
to  torture  the  fugitive  king's  heart,  as  his  body  was  safe  from  the 
tyrant's  reach,  stripped,  scourged,  and  shot  to  death  with  arrows, 
uncomplaining  to  the  last. 

They  all  assembled  for  the  evening  service  (hardly  a  day  had 
passed  since  they  left  England  on  which  they  had  not  done  the 
same)  ;  and  after  it  was  over,  they  must  needs  sing  a  Psalm,  and 
then  a  catch  or  two,  ere  they  went  to  sleep  ;  and  till  the  moon  was 
high  in  heaven,  twenty  mellow  voices  rang  out  above  the  roar  of 
the  cataract,  in  many  a  good  old  tune.  Once  or  twice  they  thought 
they  heard  an  echo  to  their  song  :  but  they  took  no  note  of  it,  till 
Gary,  who  had  gone  apart  for  a  few  minutes,  returned,  and  whis- 
pered Amyas  away. 

"  The  sweet  Iniquity  is  mimicking  us,  lad." 

They  went  to  the  brink  of  the  river;  and  there  (for  their  ears 
were  by  this  time  dead  to  the  noise  of  the  torrent)  they  could  hear 
plainly  the  same  voice  which  had  so  surprised  them  in  the  hut,  re- 
peating, clear  and  true,  snatches  of  the  airs  which  they  had  sung. 
Strange  and  solemn  enough  was  the  effect  of  the  men's  deep  voices 
on. the  island,  answered  out  of  the  dark  forest  by  those  sweet  treble 
notes  ;  and  the  two  young  men  stood  a  long  while  listening  and 
looking  out  across  the  eddies,  which  swirled  down  golden  in  the 
moonlight  :  but  they  could  see  nothing  beyond  save  the  black 
wall  of  trees.  After  a  while  the  voice  ceased,  and  the  two  returned 
to  dream  of  Incas  and  nightingales. 

They  visited  the  village  again  next  day  ;  and  every  day  for  a 
week  or  more :  but  the  maiden  appeared  but  rarely,  and  when 
she  did,  kept  her  distance  as  haughtily  as  a  queen. 

Amyas,  of  course,  as  soon  as  he  could  converse  somewhat 
better  with  his  new  friends,  was  not  long  before  he  questioned 
the  cacique  about  her.  But  the  old  man  made  an  owl's  face  at 
her  name,  and  intimated  by  mysterious  shakes  of  the  head,  that 
she  was  a  very  strange  personage,  and  the  less  said  about  her  the 
better.     -She  was  "  a  child  of  the  Sun,"  and  that  was  enough. 


WESTWARD  Hot  3-5 

"Tell  him,  boy,"  quoth  Gary,  "that  we  are  the  children  of  the 
Sun  by  his  first  wife  ;  and  have  orders  from  him  to  inquire  how 
the  Indians  have  behaved  to  our  step-sister,  for  he  cannot  see  all 
their  tricks  down  here,  the  trees  are  so  thicl<.  So  let  him  tell  us, 
or  all  the  cassava  plants  shall  be  blighted." 

"  Will,  Will,  don't  play  with  lying  !  "  said  Amyas  :  but  the 
threat  was  enough  for  the  cacique,  and  taking  them  in  his  canoe 
a  full  mile  down  the  stream,  as  if  in  fear  that  the  wonderful 
maiden  should  overhear  him,  he  told  them,  in  a  sort  of  rhythmic 
chant,  how,  many  moons  ago  (he  could  not  tell  how  many),  his 
tribe  was  a  mighty  nation,  and  dwelt  in  Papamene,  till  the 
Spaniards  drove  them  forth.  And  how,  as  they  wandered  north- 
ward, far  away  upon  the  mountain  spurs  beneath  the  flaming 
cone  of  Cotopaxi,  they  had  found  this  fair  creature  wandering  in 
the  forest,  about  the  bigness  of  a  seven  years'  child.  Wondering 
at  her  white  skin  and  her  delicate  beauty,  the  simple  Indians 
worshipped  her  as  a  god,  and  led  her  home  with  them.  And 
when  they  found  that  she  was  human  like  themselves,  their 
wonder  scarcely  lessened.  How  could  so  tender  a  being  have 
sustained  life  in  those  forests,  and  escaped  the  jaguar  and  the 
snake  ?  She  must  be  under  some  Divine  protection  :  she  must 
be  a  daughter  of  the  Sun,  one  of  that  mighty  Inca  race,  the  news 
of  whose  fearful  fall  had  reached  even  those' lonely  wildernesses  ; 
who  had,  many  of  them,  haunted  for  years  as  exiles  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Andes,  about  the  Ucalayi  and  the  Maranon  ;  who 
would,  as  all  Indians  knew,  rise  again  some  day  to  power,  when 
bearded  white  men  should  come  across  the  seas  to  restore  them 
to  their  ancient  throne. 

So,  as  the  girl  grew  up  among  them,  she  was  tended  with  royal 
honors,  by  command  of  the  conjuror  of  the  tribe,  that  so  her  fore- 
father the  Sun  might  be  propitious  to  them,  and  the  Incas  might 
show  favor  to  the  poor  ruined  Omaguas,  in  the  day  of  their  com- 
ing glory.  And  as  she  grew,  she  had  become,  it  seemed,  some- 
what of  a  prophetess  among  them,  as  well  as  an  object  of  fetish- 
worship  ;  for  she  was  more  prudent  in  council,  valiant  in  war, 
and  cunning  in  the  chase,  than  all  the  elders  of  the  tribe ;  and 
those  strange  and  sweet  songs  of  hers,  which  had  so  surprised 
the  white  men,  were  full  of  mysterious  wisdom  about  the  birds, 
and  the  animals,  and  the  flowers,  and  the  rivers,  which  the  Sun 
and  the  Good  Spirit  taught  her  from  above.  So  she  had  lived 
among  them,  unmarried  still,  not  only  because  she  despised  the 
addresses  of  all  Indian  youths,  but  because  the  conjuror  had  de- 
clared it  to  be  profane  in  them  to  mingle  with  the  race  of  the  Sun, 
and  had  assigned  her  a  cabin  near  his  own,  where  she  was  served 
in  state,  and  gave  some  sort  of  oracular  responses,  as  they  had 
seen,  to  the  questions  which  he  put  to  her. 

Such  was  the  cacique's  tale  ;  on  which  Gary  remarked,  probably 
not  unjustly,  that  he  "  dared  to  say  the  conjuror  made  a  very 
good  thing  of  it  :  "  but  Amyas  was  silent,  full  of  dreams,  if  not 
about  Manoa,  still  about  the  remnant  of  the  Inca  race.     What  if 


356  WESTWARD  HO! 

they  were  still  to  be  found  about  the  southern  sources  of  the 
Amazon  ?  He  must  have  been  very  near  them  already,  in  that 
case.  It  was  vexatious  ;  but  at  least  he  might  be  sure  that  they 
had  formed  no  great  kingdom  in  that  direction,  or  he  should  have 
heard  of  it  long  ago.  Perhaps  they  had  moved  lately  from  thence 
eastward,  to  escape  some  fresh  encroachment  of  the  Spaniards  ; 
and  this  girl  had  been  left  behind  in  their  flight.  And  then  he 
recollected,  with  a  sigh,  how  hopeless  was  any  further  search  with 
his  diminished  band.  At  least,  he  might  learn  something  of  the 
truth  from  the  maiden  herself.  It  might  be  useful  to  him  in  some 
future  attempt  ;  for  he  had  not  yet  given  up  Manoa.  If  he  but 
got  safe  home,  there  was  many  a  gallant  gentleman  (and  Raleigh 
came  at  once  into  his  mind)  who  would  join  him  in  a  fresh  search 
for  the  Golden  City  of  Guiana  ;  not  by  the  upper  waters,  but  by 
the  mouth  of  the  Orinoco. 

So  they  paddled  back,  while  the  simple  cacique  entreated  them 
to  tell  the  Sun,  in  their  daily  prayers,  how  well  the  wild  people 
had  treated  his  descendant;  and  besought  them  not  to  take  her 
away  with  them,  lest  the  Sun  should  forget  the  poor  Omaguas, 
and  ripen  their  manioc  and  their  fruit  no  more. 

Amyas  had  no  wish  to  stay  where  he  was  longer  than  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  to  bring  up  the  sick  men  from  the  Orinoco  ;  but 
this,  he  well  knew,  w^ould  be  a  journey  probably  of  some  months, 
and  attended  with  much  danger. 

Gary  volunteered  at  once,  however,  to  undertake  the  adventure, 
if  half-a-dozen  men  would  join  him,  and  the  Indians  would  send  a 
few  young  men  to  help  in  working  the  canoe  :  but  this  latter  item 
was  not  an  easy  one  to  obtain  ;:  for  the  tribe  with  whom  they  now 
were,  stood  in  some  fear  of  the  fierce  and  brutal  Guahibas,  through 
whose  country  they  must  pass  ;  and  every  Indian  tribe,  as  Amyas 
knew  well  enough,  looks  on  e^ich  tribe  of  different  language  to 
itself  as  natural  enemies,  hateful,  and  made  only  to  be  destroyed 
wherever  met.  This  strange  fact,  too,  Amyas  and  his  party  attrib- 
uted to  delusion  of  the  devil,  the  divider  and  accuser;  and  I  am 
of  opinion  that  they  were  perfectly  right :  only  let  Amyas  take  care 
that  while  he  is  discovering  the  devil  in  the  Indians,  he  does  not 
give  place  to  him  in  himself,  and  that  in  more  ways  than  one.  But 
of  that  more  hereafter. 

Whether,  however,  it  w'as  pride  or  shyness  which  kept  the 
maiden  aloof,  she  conquered  it  after  a  while  ;  perhaps  through 
mere  woman's  curiosity  ;  and  perhaps,  too,  from  mere  longing 
for  amusement  in  a  place  so  unspeakably  stupid  as  the  forest.  She 
gave  the  English  to  understand,  however,  that  though  they  all 
might  be  very  important  personages,  none  of  them  was  to  be  her 
companion  but  Amyas.  And  ere  a  month  was  past,  she  was  often 
hunting  with  him  far  and  wide  in  the  neighboring  forest,  with  a 
train  of  chosen  nymphs,  whom  she  had  persuaded  to  follow  her 
example  and  spurn  the  dusky  suitors  around.  This  fashion,  not 
uncommon,  perhaps,  among  the  Indian  tribes,  where  women  are 
continually  escaping  to  the  forest  from  the  tyranny  of  the  men. 


IVESTIVARD  HO!  357 

and  dften,  perhaps,  forming  temporary  communities,  was  to  the 
English  a  plain  proof  that  they  were  near  the  land  of  the  famous 
Amazons,  of  whom  they  had  heard  so  often  from  the  Indians  ; 
while  Amyas  had  no  doubt  that,  as  a  descendant  of  the  Incas,  the 
maiden  preserved  the  tradition  of  the  Virgins  of  the  Sun,  and  of 
the  austere  monastic  rule  of  the  Peruvian  superstition.  Had  not 
that  valiant  German  George  of  Spires,  and  Jeronimo  Ortal  too, 
fifty  years  before,  found  convents  of  the  Sun  upon  these  very  upper 
waters  ? 

So  a  harmless  friendship  sprang  up  between  Amyas  and  the 
girl,  which  soon  turned  to  good  account.  For  she  no  sooner 
heard  that  he  needed  a  crew  of  Indians,  than  she  consulted  the 
Piache,  assembled  the  tribe,  and  having  retired  to  her  hut,  com- 
menced a  song,  which  (unless  the  Piache  lied)  was  a  command 
to  furnish  young  men  for  Gary's  expedition,  under  penalty  of  the 
sovereign  displeasure  of  an  evil  spirit  with  an  unpronounceable 
name — an  argument  which  succeeded  on  the  spot,  and  the  canoe 
departed  on  its  perilous  errand. 

John  Brimblecombe  had  great  doubts  whether  a  venture  thus 
started  by  direct  help  and  patronage  of  the  fiend  would  succeed  ; 
and  Amyas  himself,  disliking  the  humbug,  told  Ayacanora  that  it 
would  be  better  to  have  told  the  tribe  that  it  was  a  good  deed, 
and  pleasing  to  the  Good  Spirit 

"  Ah  !  "  said  she  nai'vely  enough,  "  they  know  better  than  that. 
The  Good  Spinit  is  big  and  lazy  ;  and  he  smiles,  and  takes  no 
trouble  :  but  the  little  bad  spirit,  he  is  so  busy — here,  and  there, 
and  everywhere,"  and  she  waved  her  pretty  hands  up  and  down  ; 
"he  is  the  useful  one  to  have  for  a  friend  !  "  Which  sentiment 
the  Piache  much  approved,  as  became  his  occupation  ;  and  once 
told  Brimblecombe  pretty  sharply,  that  he  was  a  meddlesome 
fellow  for  telling  the  Indians  that  the  Good  Spirit  cared  for  them  ; 
"For,"  quoth  he,  "if  they  begin  to  ask  the  Good  Spirit  for  what 
they  want,  who  will  bring  me  cassava  and  coca  for  keeping  the 
baa  spirit  quiet  ?  "  This  argument,  however  forcible  the  devil's 
priests  in  all  ages  have  felt  it  to  be,  did  not  stop  Jack's  preaching 
(and  very  good  and  righteous  preaching  it  was,  moreover),  and 
much  less  the  morning  and  evening  service  in  the  island  camp. 
This  last,  the  Indians,  attracted  by  the  singing,  attended  in  such 
numbers,  that  the  Piache  found  his  occupation  gone,  and  vowed 
to  put  an  end  to  Jack's  Gospel  with  a  poisoned  arrow. 

Which  plan  he  (blinded  by  his  master,  Satan,  so  Jack  phrased 
it)  took  into  his  head  to  impart  to  Ayacanora,  as  the  partner  of 
his  tithes  and  offerings  ;  and  was  exceedingly  astonished  to  receive 
in  answer  a  box  on  the  ear,  and  a  storm  of  abuse.  After  which, 
Ayacanora  went  to  Amyas,  and  telling  him  all,  proposed  that  the 
Piache  should  be  thrown  to  the  alligators,  and  Jack  installed  in 
his  place  ;  declaring  that  whatsoever  the  bearded  men  said  must 
be  true,  and  whosoever  plotted  against  them  should  die  the  death. 
Jack,  however,  magnanimously  forgave  his  foe,  and  preached 
on,  of  course  with  fresh  zeal  ;  but  not,  alas  !  with  much  success. 


358  IVESTPVARD  HOI 

For  the  conjuror,  though  his  main  treasure  was  gone  over  to  the 
camp  of  the  enemy,  had  a  reserve  in  a  certain  holy  trumpet,  which 
was  hidden  mysteriously  in  a  cave  on  the  neighboring  hills,  not  to 
bt"  looked  on  by  woman  under  pain  of  death  ;  and  it  was  well 
known,  and  had  been  known  for  generations,  that  unless  that 
trumpet,  after  fastings,  flagellations,  and  other  solemn  rites,  was 
blown  by  night  throughout  the  woods,  the  palm-trees  would  Dear 
no  fruit;  yea,  so  great  was  the  fame  of  that  trumpet,  that  neigh- 
boring tribes  sent  at  the  proper  season  to  hire  it  and  the  blower 
thereof,  by  payment  of  much  precious  trumpery,  that  so  they  might 
be  sharers  in  its  fertilizing  powers. 

So  the  Piache  announced  one  day  in  public,  that  in  consequence 
of  the  impiety  of  the  Omaguas,  he  should  retire  to  a  neighboring 
tribe,  of  more  religious  turn  of  mind  ;  and  taking  with  him  the 
precious  instrument,  leave  their  palms  to  blight,  and  themselves 
to  the  evil  spirit. 

Dire  was  the  wailing,  and  dire  the  wrath  throughout  the  village. 
Jack's  words  were  allowed  to  be  good  words  ;  but  what  was  the 
Gospel  in  comparison  of  the  trumpet?  The  rascal  saw  his  ad- 
vantage, and  began  a  fierce  harangue  against  the  heretic  strangers. 
As  he  maddencQ,  his  hearers  maddened  ;  the  savage  nature,  ca- 
pricious as  a  chila's,  flashed  out  in  wild  suspicion.  Women  yelled, 
men  scowled,  and  ran  hastily  to  their  huts  for  bows  and  blow-guns. 
The  case  was  grown  critical.  There  were  not  more  than  a  dozen 
men  with  Amyas  at  the  time,  and  they  had  only  their  swords, 
while  the  Indian  men  might  muster  nearly  a  hundred.  Amyas 
forbade  his  men  either  to  draw  or  to  retreat  ;  but  poisoned  ar- 
rows were  weapons  before  which  the  boldest  might  well  quail  j 
and  more  than  one  cheek  grew  pale,  which  had  seldom  been  pale 
before. 

"  It  is  God's  quarrel,  sirs  all,"  said  Jack  Brimblecombe  ;  •'  let 
Him  defend  the  right." 

As  he  spoke,  from  Ayacanora's  hut  arose  her  magic  song,  and 
quivered  aloft  among  the  green  heights  of  the  forest. 

The  mob  stood  spell-bound,  still  growling  fiercely,  but  not  dar- 
ing to  move.  Another  moment  and  she  had  rushed  out,  like  a 
very  Diana,  into  the  centre  of  the  ring,  bow  in  hand,  and  arrow 
on  the  string. 

The  fallen  "  children  of  wrath"  had  found  their  match  in  her; 
for  her  beautiful  face  was  convulsed  with  fury.  Almost  foaming 
in  her  passion,  she  burst  forth  with  bitter  revilings  ;  she  pointed 
with  admiration  to  the  English,  and  then  with- fiercest  contempt 
to  the  Indians  ;  and  at  last,  with  fierce  gestures,  seemed  to  cast  oft 
the  very  dust  of  her  feet  against  them,  and  springing  to  Amyas's 
side,  placed  herself  in  the  iorefront  of  the  English  battle. 

The  whole  scence  was  so  sudden,  that  Amyas  had  hardly  dis- 
covered whether  she  came  as  friend  or  foe,  before  her  bow  was 
raised.  He  had  just  time  to  strike  up  her  hand,  when  the  arrow 
flew  past  the  ear  of  the  offending  Piache,  and  stuck  quivering  in  a 
tree. 


IVESTWAJiD  Hot  35 j 

"  Let  me  kill  the  wretch  !  "  said  she,  stamping  with  rage  ;  but 

Amyas  held  her  arm  firmly. 

"  Fools  !  "  cried  she  to  the  tribe,  while  tears  of  anger  rolled 
down  her  cheeks.  "  Chose  between  me  and  your  trumpet  !  1  am 
a  daughter  of  the  Sun  ;  I  am  white  ;  1  am  a  companion  lor  Eng- 
lishmen !  But  you  !  your  mothers  were  Guahibas,  and  ate  mucr; 
and  your  fathers — they  were  howling  apes  !  Let  then^i  sing  to 
you  !  I  shall  go  to  the  white  men,  and  never  sing  you  to  SiC-p 
any  more  ;  and  when  the  little  evil  spirit  misses  my  voice,  he  v.'i;-! 
come  and  tumble  you  out  of  your  hammocks,  and  make  you  dream 
of  ghosts  every  night,  till  you  grow  as  thin  as  blow-guns,  and  as 
stupid  as  aye-ayes  !  "  * 

This  terrible  counter-threat,  in  spite  of  the  slight  pathos  in- 
volved, had  its  effect  ;  for  it  appealed  to  that  dread  of  the  sleep 
world  which  is  common  to  all  savages:  but  the  coniuror  was 
ready  to  outbid  the  prophetess,  and  had  begun  a  fresh  oration, 
when  Amyas  turned  the  tide  of  war.  Bursting  into  a  huge  laugh 
at  the  whole  matter,  he  took  the  conjuror  by  his  shoulders,  sent 
him  with  one  crafty  kick  half-a-dozen  yards  off  upon  his  nose; 
and.  then,  walking  out  of  the  ranks,  shook  hands  round  with  all 
his  Indian  acquaintances. 

Whereon,  like  grown-up  babies,  they  all  burst  out  laughing  too, 
shook  hands  with  all  the  English,  and  then  with  each  other  ;  be- 
ing, after  all,  as  glad  as  any  bishops  to  prorogue  the  convocation, 
and  let  unpleasant  questions  stand  over  till  the  next  session.  The 
Piache  relented,  like  a  prudent  man  ;  Ayacanora  returned  to  her 
hut  to  sulk  ;  and  Amyas  to  his  island,  to  long  for  Gary's  return, 
for  he  felt  himself  on  dangerous  ground. 

At  last  Will  returned,  safe  and  sound,  and  as  merry  as  ever, 
not  having  lost  a  man  (though  he  had  had  a  smart  brush  with  the 
Guahibas).  He  brought  back  three  of  the  wounded  men,  now 
pretty  nigh  cured  ;  the  other  two,  who  had  lost  a  leg  apiece,  had 
refuseJ  to  come.  They  had  Indian  wives  ;  more  than  they  could 
eat  ;  and  tobacco  without  end  :  and  if  it  were  not  for  the  gnats 
(of  which  Gary  said  that  there  were  more  mosquitoes  than  there 
was  air),  they  should  be  the  ha}.piest  men  alive.  Amvas  could 
hardly  blame  the  poor  fellows  ;  for  tiie  chance  of  their  getting  home 
through  the  forest  with  one  leg  each  was  very  small,  and,  after  all, 
they  were  makingthe  best  ofa  bad  matter.  And  a  very  bad  matter 
it  seemed  to  him,  to  be  left  in  a  heathen  land  ;  and  a  still  worse 
matter,  when  he  overheard  some  of  the  men  talking  about  their 
comrades'  lonely  fate,  as  if,  after  all,  they  were  not  so  much  to  be 
pitied.  He  said  nothing  about  it  then,  for  he  made  a  rule  never 
to  take  notice  of  any  facts  which  he  got  at  by  eavesdropping,  how- 
ever unintentionnl  ;  but  he  h  ngcl  that  one  oftliem  would  say  as 
much  to  him,  and  he  w^.  Id  "gi'v'e  then-\  a  piece  of  his  mind." 
And  a  piece  of  his  mind  heh-^d  to  give  within  the  week  ;  for  while 
he  was  on  a  hunting  party,  two  of  is  men  were  missing,  and  were 
not  heard  of  for  some  days  ;  at  the  end  of  which  time  the  old  cacique 
•  Two-tced  sloths. 


360  WESTWARD  HO! 

came  to  tell  him  that  he  believed  they  had  taken  to  the  forest,  eac?. 
with  an  Indian  girl. 

Amyas  was  very  wroth  at  the  news.  First,  because  it  had  never 
happened  before  :  he  could  say  with  honest  pride,  as  Raleigh  did 
afterwards  when  he  returned  from  his  Guiana  voyage,  that  no 
[ndian  woman  had  ever  been  the  v/orse  for  any  man  of  his.  He 
had  preached  on  this  point  month  after  month,  and  practised  what 
he  preached  ;  and  now  his  pride  was  sorely  hurt. 

Moreover,  he  dreaded  offence  to  the  Indians  themselves  :  but  on 
this  score  the  cacique  soon  comforted  him,  telling  him  that  the 
girls,  as  far  as  he  could  find,  had  gone  off  of  their  own  free  will; 
intimating  that  he  thought  it  somewhat  an  honor  to  the  tribe  that 
they  had  found  favor  in  the  eyes  of  the  bearded  men  ;  and  more- 
over, that  late  wars  had  so  thinned  the  ranks  of  their  men,  that 
they  were  glad  enough  to  find  husbands  for  their  maidens,  and 
had  been  driven  of  late  years  to  kill  many  of  their  female  infants. 
This  sad  story,  common  perhaps  to  every  American  tribe,  and  one 
of  the  chief  causes  of  their  extermination,  reassured  Amyas  some- 
what :  but  he  could  not  stomach  either  the  loss  of  his  man,  or  their 
breach  of  discipline  ;  and  look  for  them  he  v/ould.  Did  any.  one 
know  where  they  were  ?  If  the  tribe  knew,  they  did  not  care  to 
tell :  but  Ayacanora,  the  moment  she  found  out  his  wishes,  van- 
ished into  the  forest,  and  returned  in  two  days,  saying  that  she 
had  found  the  fugitives  ;  but  she  would  not  show  him  where  they 
were,  unless  he  promised  not  to  kill  them.  He,  of  course,  had  no 
mind  for  so  rigorous  a  method  :  he  both  needed  the  men,  and  he 
had  no  malice  against  them, — for  the  one,  Ebsworthy,  was  a 
plain,  honest,  happy-go-lucky  sailor,  and  as  good  a  hand  as  there 
was  in  the  crew  ;  and  the  other  was  that  same  ne'er-do-weel  Will 
Parracombe,  his  old  schoolfellow,  who  had  been  tempted  by  the 
gypsy-Jesuit  at  Appledore,  and  resisting  that  bait,  had  made  a  very 
fair  seaman. 

So  forth  Amyas  went,  with  Ayacanora  as  a  guide,  some  five 
miles  upward  along  the  forest  slopes,  till  the  girl  whispered, 
"  There  they  are  ;  "  and  Amyas,  pushing  himself  gently  through  a 
thicket  of  bamboo,  beheld  a  scene  which,  in  spite  of  his  wrath, 
kept  him  silent,  and  perhaps  softened,  for  a  minute. 

On  the  farther  side  of  a  little  lawn,  the  stream  leapt  through  a 
chasm  beneath  overarching  vines,  sprinkling  eternal  freshness 
upon  all  around,  and  then  sank  foaming  into  a  clear  rock-basin, 
a  bath  for  Dian's  self.  On  its  farther  side,  the  crag  rose  some 
twenty  feet  in  height,  bank  upon  bank  of  feathered  ferns  and 
cushioned  moss,  over  the  rich  green  beds  of  which  drooped  a 
thousand  orchids,  scarlet,  white,  and  orange,  and  made  the  still 
pool  gorgeous  with  the  reflection  of  their  gorgeousness.  At  its 
more  quiet  outfall,  it  was  half-hidden  in  huge  fantastic  leaves  and 
tall  flowering  stems  ;  but  near  the  waterfall  the  grassy  bank  sloped 
down  toward  the  stream,  and  there,  on  palm-leaves  strewed  upon 
the  turf,  beneath  the  shadow  of  the  crags,  lay  the  two  men  whom 


WESTWARD  HO!  361 

Amyas  sought,  and  whom,  now  he  had  found  them,  he  had  hardly 
heart  to  wake  from  their  delicious  dream. 

For  what  a  nest  it  was  which  they  had  found  !  the  air  was 
heavy  with  the  scent  of  tiowers,  and  quivering-  with  the  murmur 
of  the  stream,  the  humming  of  the  colibris  and  insects,  the  cheer- 
ful song  of  birds,  the  gentle  cooing  of  a  hundred  doves;  while 
now  and  then,  from  far  away,  the  musical  wail  of  the  sloth,  or  the 
deep  toll  of  the  bell-bird,  came  softly  to  the  ear.  What  was  not 
there  which  eye  or  ear  could  need  ?  And  what  which  palate  could 
need  either?  For  on  the  rock  above,  some  strange  tree,  leaning 
forward,  dropped  every  now  and  then  a  luscious  apple  upon  the 
grass  below,  and  huge  wild  plantains  bent  beneath  their  load  of 
fruit. 

There,  on  the  stream  bank,  lay  the  two  renegades  from  civilized 
life.  They  had  cast  away  their  clothes,  and  painted  themselves, 
like  the  Indians,  with  arnotto  and  indigo.  One  lay  lazily  picking 
up  the  fruit  which  fell  close  to  his  side  ;  the  other  sat,  his  back 
against  a  cushion  of  soft  moss,  his  hands  folded  languidly  upon 
his  lap,  giving  himself  up  to  the  soft  influence  of  the  narcotic  coca- 
juice,  with  half-shut  dreamy  eyes  fixed  on  the  everlasting  sparkle 
of  the  waterfall — 

"  While  beauty,  born  of  murmuring  soundj 
Did  pass  into  his  face." 

Somewhat  apart  crouched  their  two  dusky  brides,  crowned 
with  fragrant  flowers,  but  working  busily,  like  true  women,  for 
the  lords  whom  they  delighted  to  honor.  One  sat  plaiting  palm 
fibres  into  a  basket  ;  the  other  was  boring  the  stem  of  a  huge 
milk-tree,  which  rose  like  some  mighty  column  on  the  right  hand 
of  the  lawn,  its  broad  canopy  of  leaves  unseen  through  the  dense 
underwood  of  laurel  and  bamboo,  and  betokened  only  by  the  rustle 
far  aloft,  and  by  the  mellow  shade  in  which  it  bathed  the  whole 
delicious  scene, 

Amyas  siood  silent  for  a  while,  partly  from  noble  shame  at 
seeing  two  Christian  men  thus  fallen  of  their  own  self-will  ;  partly 
because — and  he  could  not  but  confess  that — a  solemn  calm  brood- 
ed above  that  glorious  place,  to  breakthrough  which  seemed  sacri- 
lege even  while  he  felt  it  a  duty.  Such,  he  thought,  was  Paradise 
of  old;  such  our  first  parents'  bridal  bower  !  Ah  !  if  man  had 
not  fallen,  he  too  might  have  dwelt  forever  in  such  a  home — with 
whom  ?  He  started,  and  shaking  off  the  spell,  advanced  sword  in 
hand. 

The  women  saw  him  and  springing  to  their  feet,  caught  up 
their  long  pocumas,  and  leapt  like  deer  each  in  front  of  her  be- 
loved. There  they  stood,  the  deadly  tubes  pressed  to  their  lips, 
eyeing  him  like  tigresses  who  protect  their  young  while  every 
slender  limb  quivered,  not  with  terror,  but  with  rage. 

Amyas  paused,  half  in  admiration,  half  in  prudence  ;  for  one 
rash  step  was  death.  But  rushing  through  the  canes,  Ayacanora 
sprang  to  the  front,  and  shrieked  to  them  in  Indian.     At  the  sight 


352  WESTWARD  HO  I 

of  the  prophetess  the  women  wavered,  and  Amyas,  putting  on  as 
gentle  a  face  as  he  could,  stepped  forward,  assuring  them  in  his 
best  Indian  that  he  would  harm  no  one. 

"  Ebsworthy  !  Parracombe  I  Are  you  grown  such  savages 
already,  that  you  have  forgotten  your  captain  ^  Stand  up,  men. 
and  saiute  !  " 

Ebs.vorthy  sprang  to  his  feet,  obeyed  mechanically,  and  then 
slipped  behuid  his  bride  again,  as  if  in  shame.  The  dreamer 
turned  his  head  languidly,  raised  his  hand  to  his  forehead,  and 
then  returned  to  his  contemplation. 

Amyas  rested  the  point  of  his  sword  on  the  ground,  and  his 
hands  upon  the  hilt,  and  looked  sadly  and  solemnly  upon  the  pair. 
Ebsworthy  broke  the  silence,  half  reproachfully,  half  trying  to 
bluster  away  the  coming  storm. 

"Well,  noble  captain,  so  you've  hunted  out  us  poor  fellows; 
and  want  to  drag  us  back  again  in  a  halter,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"I  came  to  look  for  Christians,  and  I  find  heathens  ;  for  men, 
and  I  find  swine.  I  shall  leave  the  heathens  to  their  wilderness, 
and  the  swine  to  their  trough.     Parracombe  !  " 

"  He's  too  happy  to  answer  you,  sir.  And  why  not  ?  What  do 
you  want  of  us  }  Our  two  years'  vow  is  out,  and  we  are  free  men 
povv." 

"  Free  to  become  like  the  beasts  that  perish  ?  You  are  the 
queen's  servants  still,  and  in  her  name  I  charge  you " 

"  Free  to  be  happy,"  interrupted  the  man.  "  W^ith  the  best 
of  wives,  the  best  of  food,  a  warmer  bed  than  a  duke's  and  a 
finer  garden  than  an  emperor's.  As  for  clothes,  why  the  plague 
should  a  man  wear  them  where  he  don't  need  them  ?  As  for  gold, 
what's  the  use  of  it  where  Heaven  sends  everything  ready-made  to 
your  hands  ?  Hearken,  Captain  Leigh.  You've  been  a  good 
captain  to  me,  and  I'll  repay  you  with  a  bit  of  sound  advice. 
Give  up  your  gold-hunting,  and  toiling  and  moiling  after  honor 
and  glory,  and  copy  us.  Take  that  fair  maid  behind  you  there  to 
wife  ;  pitch  here  with  us  ;  and  see  if  you  are  not  happier  in  one 
day  than  ever  you  were  in  all  your  life  before." 

"  You  are  drunk,  sirrah  !  William  Parracombe  !  Will  you 
speak  to  me,  or  shall  I  heave  you  into  the  stream  to  sober  you  ?  " 

"  Who  calls  William    Parracombe  ?  "  answered  a  sleepy  voice. 

•'  I,  fool  ! — your  captain." 

"  I  am  not  William  Parracombe.  He  is  dead  long  ago  of 
hunger,  and  labor,  and  heavy  sorrow,  and  will  never  see  Bideford 
town  any  more.  He  is  turned  into  an  Indian  now  ;  and  he  is  to 
sleep,  sleep,  sleep  for  a  hundred  years,  till  he  gets   his  strength 

again,  poor  fellow " 

"  Awake,  then,  thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and 
Christ  shall  give  thee  light  !  A  christened  Englishman,  and  living 
thus  the  life  of  a  beast  ?  " 

"Christ  shall  give  thee  light?"  answered  the  same  unnatural 
abstracted  voice.  "  Yes  ;  so  the  parsons  say.  And  they  say  too, 
that  He  is  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth.     I  should  have  thought  His 


WESTWARD  HO  /  363 

light  was  as  near  us  here  as  anywhere,  and  nearer  too,  by  the 
look  of  the  place.  Look  round  !  "  said  he,  waving-  a  huy  liand, 
"  and  see  the  works  of  God,  and  the  place  of  Paradise,  whitiier 
poor  weary  souls  go  home  and  rest,  after  their  masters  in  the 
wicked  world  have  used  them  up,  with  labor  and  sorrow,  and 
made  them  wade  knee-deep  in  bloocl— I'm  tired  of  blood,  and  tired 
of  gold.  I'll  march  no  more  ;  I'll  fight  no  more  ;  I'll  hunger  no 
more  after  vanity  and  vexation  of  spirit.  What  shall  I  get  by  it  ? 
Maybe  I  shall  leave  my  bones  in  the  wilderness.  I  can  but  do 
that  here.  Maybe  I  shall  get  home  with  a  few  pezos,  to  die  an 
old  cripple  in  some  stinking  hovel,  that  a  monkey  would  scorn  to 
lodge  in  here.  You  may  go  on  ;  it'll  pay  you.  You  may  be  a 
rich  man,  and  a  knight,  and  live  in  a  fine  house,  and  drink  good 
wine,  and  go  to  Court,  and  torment  your  soul  with  trying  to  get 
more,  when  you've  got  too  much  already  ;  plotting  and  planning 
to  scramble  upon  your  neighbor's  shoulders,  as  they  all  did — Sir 
Richard,  and  Mr.  Raleigh,  and  Chichester,  and  poor  dear  old  Sir 
Wadham,  and  all  of  them  that  I  used  to  watch  when  I  lived  before. 
They  were  no  happier  than  I  was  then  ;  I'll  warrant  they  are  no 
happier  now.  Go  your  ways,  captain  ;  climb  to  glory  upon  some 
other  backs  than  ours,  and  leave  us  here  in  peace,  alone  with  God 
and  God's  woods,  and  the  good  wives  that  God  has  given  us,  to 
play  a  little  like  school  children.  It's  long  since  I've  had  play- 
hours  ;  and  now  I'll  be  a  little  child  once  more,  with  the  flowers, 
and  the  singing  birds,  and  the  silver  fishes  in  the  stream,  that  are 
at  peace,  and  think  no  harm,  and  want  neither  clothes,  nor  money, 
nor  knighthood,  nor  peerage,  but  just  take  what  comes  ;  and  their 
heavenly  Father  feedeth  them,  and  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  was 
not  arrayed  like  one  of  these — and  will  he  not  much  more  feed  us, 
that  are  of  more  value  than  many  sparrows  ?  " 

"  And  will  you  live  here,  shut  out  from  all  Christian  ordinances  ?  " 

"Christian  ordinances?  Adam  and  Eve  had  no  parsons  in 
Paradise.  The  Lord  was  their  priest,  and  the  Lord  was  their 
shepherd,  and  He'll  be  ours  too.  But  go  your  ways,  sir,  and  send 
up  Sir  John  Brimblecombe,  and  let  him  marry  us  here  Church, 
fashion  (though  we  have  sworn  troth  to  each  other  before  God 
already),  and  let  him  give  us  the  Holy  Sacrament  once  and  for  all, 
and  then  read  the  funeral  service  over  us,  and  go  his  ways,  and 
count  us  for  dead,  sir — for  dead  we  are  to  the  wicked  worthless 
world  we  came  out  of  three  years  ago.  And  when  the  Lord 
chooses  to  call  us.  the  little  birds  will  cover  us  with  leaves,  as  they 
did  the  babies  in  the  wood,  and  fresher  flowers  will  grow  out  of 
our  graves,  sir,  than  out  of  yours  in  that  bare  Northam  church- 
yard there  beyond  the  weary,  weary,  weary  sea." 

His  voice  died  away  to  a  murmur,  and  his  head  sank  on  his 
breast. 

Amyas  stood  spell-bound.  The  effect  of  the  narcotic  was  all 
but  miraculous  in  his  eyes.  The  sustained  eloquence,  the  novel 
richness  of  diction  in  one  seemingly  drowned  in  sensual  sloth, 
were,  in  his  eyes,  the  possession  of  some  evil  spirit.     And  yet  he 


364  IVESTIVAJ^D  HO! 

could  not  answer  the  Evil  One.  His  English  heart,  full  of  the 
divine  instinct  of  duty  and  public  spirit,  told  him  that  it  must  be  a 
lie  :  but  how  to  prove  it  a  lie  ?  And  he  stood  for  full  ten  minutes 
searching  for  an  answer,  which  seemed  to  fly  farther  and  farther 
off  the  more  he  sought  for  it. 

His  eye  glanced  on  Ayacanora.  The  two  girls  were  whispering 
to  her  smilingly.  He  saw  one  of  them  glance  a  look  toward  him, 
and  then  say  .  something,  which  raised  a  beautiful  blush  in  the 
maiden's  face:  With  a  playful  bow  at  the  speaker,  she  turned 
away.  Amyas  knew  instinctively  that  they  were  giving  her  the 
same  advice  as  Ebsworthy  had  given  to  him.  Oh,  how  beautiful 
she  was  !  Might  not  the  renegades  have  some  reason  on  their 
side  after  all. 

He  shuddered  at  the  thought ;  but  he  could  not  shake  it  off. 
It  glided  in  like  some  gaudy  snake,  and  wreathed  its  coils  round 
all  his  heart  and  brain.  He  drew  back  to  the  other  side  of  the 
lawn,  and  thought  and  thought 

Should  he  ever  get  home  ?  If  he  did,  might  he  not  get  home  a 
beggar  1  Beggar  or  rich,  he  would  still  have  to  face  his  mother, 
to  go  through  that  meeting,  to  tell  that  tale,  perhaps,  to  hear 
those  reproaches,  the  forecast  of  which  had  weighed  on  him  like 
a  dark  thunder-cloud  for  two  weary  years  ;  to  wipe  out  which  by 
some  desperate  deed  of  glory  he  had  wandered  the  wilderness, 
and  wandered  in  vain. 

Could  he  not  settle  here  ?  He  need  not  be  a  savage.  He  and 
his  might  Christianize,  civilize,  teach  equal  law,  mercy  in  war, 
chivalry  to  women  ;  found  a  community  which  might  be  hereafter 
as  strong  a  barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Spaniard,  as 
Manoa  itself  would  have  been.  Who  knew  the  wealth  of  the  sur- 
rounding forests  ?  Even  if  there  were  no  gold,  there  were  bound- 
less vegetable  treasures.  What  might  he  not  export  down  the 
rivers  ?  This  might  be  the  nucleus  of  a  great  commercial  settle, 
ment 

And  yet,  was  even  that  worth  while  ?  To  settle  here  only  to 
torme-nt  his  soul  with  fresh  schemes,  fresh  ambitions  ;  not  to  rest, 
but  only  to  change  one  labor  for  another  ?  Was  not  your  dreamer 
right  ?  Did  they  not  all  need  rest  ?  What  if  they  each  sat  down 
among  the  flowers,  beside  an  Indian  bride  ?  They  might  live  like 
Christians,  while  they  lived  like  the  birds  of  heaven. — 

What  a  dead  silence  !  He  looked  up  and  round  ;  the  birds  had 
ceased  to  chirp  ;  the  parroquets  were  hiding  behind  the  leaves  ; 
the  monkeys  were  clustered  motionless  upon  the  highest  twigs  ; 
only  out  of  the  far  depths  of  the  forest,  the  campanero  gave  its 
solemn  toll,  once,  twice,  thrice,  like  a  great  death-kaell  rolling 
down  from  far  cathedral  towers.  Was  it  an  omen  ?  He  looked 
up  hastily  at  Ayancora.  She  was  watching  him  earnestly. 
Heavens  !  was  she  waiting  for  his  decision  ?  Both  dropped  their 
eyes.     The  decision  was  not  to  come  from  them. 

A  rustle  !  a  roar  !  a  shriek  !  and  Amyas  lifted  his  eyes  in  time 


WESTWARD  HO!  ^65 

to  see  a  huge  dark  bar  shoot  from  the  crag  above  the  dreamer's 
head,  among  the  group  of  girls. 

A  dull  crash,  as  the  group  flew  asunder  ;  and  in  the  midst,  up- 
on the  ground,  the  tawny  limbs  of  one  were  writhing  beneath  the 
fangs  of  a  black  jaguar,  the  rarest  and  most  terrible  of  the  forest 
kings.  Of  one  1  But  of  which  ?  Was  it  Ayacanora  .?  And 
sword  in  hand,  Amyas  rushed  madly  forward  ;  before  he  reached 
the  spot  those  tortured  limbs  were  still. 

It  was  not  Ayacanora,  for  with  a  shriek  which  rang  through 
the  woods,  the  wretched  dreamer,  wakened  thus  at  last,  sprang 
up  and  felt  for  his  sword.  Fool  !  he  had  left  it  in  his  hammock  ! 
Screaming  the  name  of  his  dead  bride,  he  rushed  on  the  jaguar,  as 
it  crouched  above  its  prey,  and.  seizing  its  head  with  teeth  and 
nails,  worried  it,  in  the  ferocity  of  his  madness,  like  a  mastiff-dog. 

The  brute  wrenched  its  head  from  his  grasp,  and  raised  its 
dreadful  paw.  Another  moment  and  the  husband's  corpse  would 
have  lain  by  the  wife's 

But  high  in  air  gleamed  Amyas's  blade  ;  down  with  all  the 
weight  of  his  huge  body  and  strong  arm,  fell  that  most  trusty 
steel  ;  the  head  of  the  jaguar  dropped  grinning  on  its  victim's 
corpse ; 

"  And  all  stood  still,  who  saw  him  fall, 
While  men  miglit  count  a  score. 

"  O  Lord  Jesus,"  said  Amyas  to  himself,  "  Tnou  hast  answered 
the  devil  for  me  !  And  this  is  the  selfish  rest  for  which  I  would 
have  bartered  the  rest  which  comes  by  working  where  Thou  hast 
put  me  !  " 

They  bore  away  the  lithe  corpse  into  the  forset,  and  buried  it 
under  soft  moss  and  virgin  moula  ;  and  so  the  fair  clay  was  trans- 
figured into  fairer  flowers,  and  the  poor,  gentle,  untaught  spirit 
returned  to  God  who  gave  it. 

And  then  Amyss  went  sadly  and  silently  back  again,  and  Parra- 
corabe  walked  after  him,  like  one  who  walks  in  sleep. 

Ebsworthy,  sobered  by  the  shock,  entreated  to  come  too  ;  but 
Amyas  forbade  him  gently, — 

"  No,  lad,  you  are  forgiven.  God  forbid  that  I  should  judge 
you  or  any  man  !  Sir  John  shall  come  up  and  marry  you  ;  an  I 
then,  if  it  still  be  your  will  to  stay,  the  Lord  forgive  you,  if  you  De 
wrong;  in  the  meanwhile,  we  will  leave  with  you  all  that  \>e 
can  spare.  Stay  here  and  pray  to  God  to  make  you,  and  me  too, 
wiser  men." 

And  so  Amyas  departed.  He  had  come  out  stern  and  proud  ; 
but  he  came  back  again  like  a  little  child. 

Three  days  after  Parracombe  was  dead.  Once  in  camp  he 
seemed  unable  to  eat  or  move,  and  having  received  absolution  and 
communion  from  ^ood  Sir  John,  faded  away  without  disease  or 
pain,  "babbling  of  green  fields,"  and  murmuring  the  name  of  his 
lost  Indian  bride. 

Amyas,  too,  sought  ghostly  counsel  of  Sir  John,  and  told  him 
all  which  had  passed  through  his  mind. 


^(jO  westward  BO! 

"It  was  indeed  a  temptation  of  Diabolus,'  said  that  simple 
sag-e  ;  "for  he  is  by  his  very  name  the  divider  who  sets  man 
against  man,  and  temi)ts  one  to  care  only  for  oneself,  and  forget 
kin  and  country,  and  duty  and  queen.  But  you  have  resisted  him, 
Captain  Leigh/like  a  true-born  Englishman,  as  you  always  are, 
and  lie  has  lied  from  you.  But  that  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
not  (l^'i  from  liim  too;  and  so  I  think  the  sooner  we  are  out  of 
this  place,  and  at  work  again,  the  better  for  all  our  souls." 

To  which  Amyas  most  devoutly  said,  "  Amen  !  "  If  Ayacanora 
were  the  daughter  of  ten  thousand  Incas,  he  must  get  out  of  her 
way  as  soon  as  possible. 

The  next  day  he  announced  his  intention  to  march  once  more, 
and  to  his  delight  found  the  men  ready  enough  to  move  towards 
the  Spanish  settlements.  One  thing  they  needed  :  gunpowder  for 
their  muskets.  But  that  they  mu^t  make  as  they  went  along  ; 
that  is,  if  they  could  get  the  materials.  Charcoal  they  could  pro- 
cure, enough  to  set  the  world  on  fire  ;  but  nitre  they  had  not  yet 
seen  ;  perhaps  they  should  find  it  among  the  hills  :  while  as  for 
sulphur,  any  brave  man  could  get  that  where  there  v/ere  vol- 
canoes. Who  had  not  heard  how  one  of  Cortes' Spaniards,  in  like 
need,  was  lowered  in  a  basket  down  the  smoking  crater  of  Popo- 
catepetl, till  he  had  gathered  sulphur  enough  to  conquer  an  em- 
pire .''  And  what  a  Spaniard  could  do  an  Englishman  could  do, 
or  they  would  know  the  reason  why.  And  it  they  found  none — 
why  clothyard  arrows  had  done  Englishman's  work  many  a  time 
already,  and  they  could  do  it  again,  not  to  mention  those  same 
blow  guns  and  their  arrows  of  curare  poison,  which,  though  they 
might  be  useless  against  Spaniard's  armor,  were  far  more  valu- 
able than  muskets  tor  procuring  food,  from  the  simple  fact  of  their 
silence. 

One  thing  remained  ;  to  invite  tlieir  Indian  friends  to  join  them. 
And  that  was  done  in  due  form  the  next  day. 

Ayacanora  was  consulted,  of  course,  and  by  the  Piache,  too, 
who  was  glad  enough  to  be  rid  of  the  rival  preacher,  and  his 
unpleasantly  good  news  that  men  need  not  worship  the  devil,  be- 
cause there  was  a  good  God  above  them.  The  maiden  sang  most 
melodious  assent ;  the  whole  tribe  echoed  it  ;  and  all  went  smoothly 
enous:h  till  the  old  cacique  observed  that  before  starting  a  com- 
pact should  be  made  between  the  allies  as  to  their  share  of  the 
bootv. 

Nothing  could  be  more  reasonable  ;  and  Amyas  asked  him  to 
name  his  terms. 

"You  take  the  gold,  and  we  will  take  the  prisoners." 

"  And  what  will  vou  do  with  them  ?  "  asked  Amyas,  who  rec- 
ollected poor  John  Oxenham's  hapless  compact  made  in  like  case. 

"  Eat  them,"  quoth  the  cacique  innocently  enough. 

Amvas  whistled. 

"Humph!  "said  Cary.  "The  old  proverb  comes  true— '  the 
more  the  merrier :  but  the  fewer  the  better  fare.'  I  thmk  we  will 
do  without  our  red  friends  for  this  timf*." 


WESTWARD  HO  !  367 

Ayacanora,  who  had  been  preaching  war  like  a  very  Boadicea, 
was  much  vexed. 

"  Do  you  too  want  to  dine  off  roast  Spaniards  ?  "  asked  Amyas. 

She  shook  her  head,  and  denied  the  imputation  with  much  dis- 
gust. 

Amyas  was  reheved  ;  he  had  shrunk  from  joining  the  thought 
of  so  fair  a  creature,  however  degraded,  with  the  liorrors  of  can- 
nibalism. 

But  the  cacique  was  a  man  of  business,  and  held  out  staunchly. 

"  Is  it  fair  .?  "  he  asked.  "  The  white  man  loves  gold,  and  he 
gets  it.  The  poor  Indian,  what  use  is  gold  to  him  1  He  only 
wants  something  to  eat,  and  he  must  eat  his  enemies.  What  else 
will  pay  him  for  going  so  far  through  the  forests  hungry  and 
thirsty  }     You  will  get  all,  and  the  Omaguas  will  get  nothing." 

The  argument  was  unanswerable  :  and  the  next  day  they 
started  without  the  Indians,  while  John  Brimblecombe  heaved 
many  an  honest  sigh  at  leaving  them  to  darkness,  the  devil  and 
the  holy  trumpet. 

And  Ayacanora  ? 

When  their  departure  was  determined,  she  shut  herself  up  in 
her  hut,  and  appeared  no  more.  Great  was  the  weeping,  howl- 
ing, and  leave-taking  on  the  part  of  the  simple  Indians,  and  loud 
the  entreaties  to  come  back  again,  bring  them  a  message  from 
Amalivaca's  daughter  beyond  the  seas,  and  help  them  to  recover 
their  lost  land  of  Papamene  ;  but  Ayacanora  took  no  part  in  them  ; 
and  Amyas  left  her,  wondering  at  her  absence,  but  joyful  and 
light-hearted  at  having  escaped  the  rocks  of  the  Sirens, 'and  being 
at  work  once  more. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

FOW  THEY  TOOK  THE  GOLD-TRAIN. 

•*  God  will  relent,  and  quit  thee  all  thy  debt, 
Who  evermore  approve:^,  and  more  accepts 
Him  who  imploring  mercy  sues  for  iife, 
Than  wiio  self-ri.uiorous  chooses  death  as  due, 
Which  argues  over  just,  and  self-displeased 
For  seif-offence,  more  than  for  God  offended." 

Samson  Agonistes. 

A  FORTNIGHT  or  more  had  passed  in  severe  toil  ;  but  not  more 
severe  than  they  have  endured  many  a  time  before.  Bidding  fare- 
well once  and  forever  to  the  green  ocean  of  the  eastern  plains, 
•  they  have  crossed  the  Cordillera  ;  they  have  taken  a  longing  glance 
at  the  city  of  Santa  Fe,  lying  in  the  midst  of  rich  gardens  on  its 
lofty  mountain  plateau,  and  have  seen,  as  was  to  be  expected, 
that  it  was  far  too  large  a  place  for  any  attempt  of  theirs.  But 
they  have  not  altogether  throv/n  away  their  time.  Their  Indian 
lad  has  discovered  that  a  gold-train  is  roinif  down   from  Santa  Fe 


368  WESTWARD  HO! 

toward  the  Magdalena ;  and  they  are  waiting  for  it  beside  the 
miserable  rut  which  serves  for  a  road,  encamped  in  a  forest  ot 
oaks  which  would  make  them  almost  fancy  themselves  back  again 
m  Europe,  were  it  not  for  the  tree-ferns  which  form  the  under- 
growth ;  and  were  it  not,  too,  for  the  deep  gorges  opening  at  their 
very  feet ;  in  which,  while  their  brows  are  swept  by  the  cool  breezes 
of  a  temperate  zone,  they  can  see  far  below,  dim  through  their 
everlasting  vapor-bath  of  rank  hot  steam,  tne  mighty  forms  and 
gorgeous  colors  of  the  tropic  forest. 

They  have  pitched  their  camp  among  the  tree-ferns,  above  a 
spot  where  the  path  winds  along  a  steep  hill-side,  with  a  sheer 
cliff  below  of  many  a  hundred  feet.  There  was  a  road  there  once, 
perhaps,  when  Cundinamarca  was  a  civilized  and  cultivated 
kingdom  ;  but  all  which  Spanish  misrule  has  left  of  it  are  a  few 
steps  slipping  from  their  places  at  the  bottom  of  a  narrow  ditch  of 
mud.  It  has  gone  the  way  of  the  aqueducts,  and  bridges,  and 
post-houses,  the  gardens  and  the  llama-flocks  of  that  strange 
empire.  In  the  mad  search  for  gold,  every  art  of  civilization  has 
fallen  to  decay,  save  architecture  alone  ;  and  that  survives  only 
in  the  splendid  cathedrals  which  have  risen  upon  the  ruins  of 
the  temples  of  the  Sun,  in  honor  of  a  milder  Pantheon  ;  if, 
indeed,  that  can  be  called  a  milder  one  which  demands  (as  we 
have  seen  already)  human  sacrifices,  unknown  to  the  gentle 
nature-worship  of  the  Incas. 

And  now,  the  rapid  tropic  vegetation  has  reclaimed  its  old 
domains,  and  Amyas  and  his  crew  are  as  utterly  alone,  within  a 
few  miles  of  an  important  Spanish  settlement,  as  they  would  be 
in  the  solitudes  of  the  Orinoco  or  the  Amazon. 

In  the  meanwhile,  all  their  attempts  to  find  sulphur  and  nitre 
have  been  unavailing  :  and  they  have  been  forced  to  depend  after 
all  (much  to  Yeo's  disgust)  upon  their  swords  and  arrows.  Be  it 
so  :  Drake  took  Nombre  de  Dios  and  the  gold-train  there  with  no 
better  weapons  ;  and  they  may  do  as  much. 

So,  having  blocked  up  the  road  above  by  felling  a  large  tree 
across  it,  they  sit  there  among  the  flowers  chewing  coca,  in 
default  of  foo3  and  drink,  and  meditating  among  themselves  the 
cause  of  a  mysterious  roar,  which  has  been  heard  nightly  in  their 
wake  ever  since  they  left  the  banks  of  the  Meta.  Jaguar  it  is  not, 
nor  monkey  :  it  is  unlike  any  sound  they  know  ;  and  why  should 
it  follow  them  ?  However,  they  are  in  the  land  of  wonders  ;  and, 
moreover,  the  gold-train  is  far  more  important  than  any  noise. 

At  last,  up  from  beneath  there  was  a  sharp  crack  and  a  loud 
cry.  The  crack  was  neither  the  snapping  of  a  branch,  nor  the 
tapping  of  a  woodpecker  ;  the  cry  was  neither  the  scream  of  the 
parrot,  nor  the  howl  of  the  monkey, — 

"  That  was  a  whip's  crack,"  said  Yeo,  "  and  a  woman's  wail. 
They  are  close  here,  lads  !  " 

"  A  woman's  ?  Do  they  drive  women  in  their  gangs  ?  **  asked 
Amyas. 


JVESTIVAI^D  I/O  !  369 

"  Why  not,  the  brutes  ?  There  they  are,  sir.  Did  you  see  thei. 
basnets  glitter  ?  " 

"  Men  !  "  said  Amyas  in  a  low  voice,  "  I  trust  you  all  not  to 
shoot  till  I  do.  Then  give  them  one  arrow,  out  swords,  and  at 
them  !     Pass  the  word  along." 

Up  they  came,  slowly,  and  all  hearts  beat  loud  at  their  coming. 

First,  about  twenty  soldiers,  only  one-half  of  whom  were  on 
foot  ;  the  other  half  being  borne,  incredible  as  it  may  seem,  each 
in  a  chair  on  the  back  of  a  single  Indian,  while  those  who  marched 
had  consigned  their  heaviest  armor  and  their  arquebuses  into  the 
hands  of  attendant  slaves,  who  were  each  pricked  on  at  will  by 
the  pikes  of  the  soldier  behind  them. 

"The  men  are  mad  to  let  their  ordnance  out  of  their  hands." 

"Oh,  sir,  an  Indian  will  pray  to  an  arquebus  not  to  shoot  him  ; 
be  sure  their  artillery  is  safe  enough,"  said  Yeo. 

"  Look  at  the  proud  villains,"  whispered  another,  "  to  make 
dumb  beasts  of  human  creatures  like  that  !" 

"Ten  shot,"  counted  the  business-like  Amyas,  "  and  ten  pikes  ; 
Will  can  tackle  them  up  above." 

Last  ot  this  troop  came  some  inferior  officer,  also  in  his  chair, 
who,  as  he  went  slowly  up  the  hill,  with  his  face  turned  toward 
the  gang  which  followed,  drew  every  other  second  the  cigar  from 
his  lips,  to  inspirit  them  with  those  pious  ejaculations  to  the  vari- 
ous objects  of  his  worship,  divine,  human,  anatomic,  wooden 
and  textile  which  earned  for  the  pious  Spaniards  of  the  sixteenth 
century  the  uncharitable  imputation  of  being  at  once  the  most 
fetiche-ridden  idolaters,  and  the  most  abominable  swearers  of  all 
Europeans. 

"  The  blasphemous  dog  !  "  said  Yeo,  fumbling  at  his  bowstring, 
as  if  he  longed  to  send  an  arrow  through  him.  But  Amyas  had 
hardly  laid  nis  linger  on  the  impatient  veteran's  arm,  when  an- 
other procession  followed,  which  made  them  forget  all  else. 

A  sad  and  hideous  sight  it  was  :  yet  one  too  common  even  then 
in  those  remoter  districts,  where  the  humane  edicts  were  disre- 
garded, which  the  prayers  of  Dominican  friars  (to  their  everlast- 
ing honor  be  it  spoken)  had  wrung  from  the  Spanish  sovereigns  ; 
and  which  the  legislation  of  that  most  wise,  virtuous,  and  heroic 
Inquisitor  (paradoxical  as  the  words  may  seem),  Pedro  de  la  Gasca, 
had  carried  into  effect  in  Peru, — futile  and  tardy  alleviations  of 
cruelties  and  miseries  unexampled  in  the  history  of  Christendom, 
or  perhaps  on  earth,  save  in  the  conquests  of  Sennacherib  and 
Zinghis-Khan.  But  on  the  frontiers,  where  negroes  were  im- 
ported to  endure  the  toil  which  was  found  fatal  to  the  Indian, 
and  all  Indian  tribes  convicted  (or  suspected)  of  cannibalism  were 
hunted  down  for  the  salvation  of  their  souls  and  the  enslavement 
of  their  bodies,  such  scenes  as  these  were  still  too  common  ;  and, 
indeed,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  Humboldt's  impartial  account, 
were  not  very  much  amended  even  at  the  close  of  the  last  century, 
in  those  much-boasted  Jesuit  missions  in  which  (as  many  of  them 
as  existed   anywhere   but  on  paper)  military  tyranny   was   super- 


270  ^-  WESTWARD  HO ! 

added  to  monastic,  and  the  Gospel  preached  with  fire  and  sword, 
almost  as  shamelessly  as  by  the  tirst  Conquistadores. 

A  line  of  Indians,  Negroes,  and  Zambos,  naked,  emaciated, 
scarred  with  whips  and  fetters,  and  chained  together  by  their  left 
wrists,  toiled  upwards,  panting  and  perspiring  under  the  burden 
of  a  basket  held  up  by  a  strap  which  passed  across  their  foreheads. 
Yeo's  sneer  M^as  but  too  just;  there  were  not  only  old  men  and 
youths  among  them,  but  women  ;  slender  young  girls,  mothers 
with  children  running  at  their  knee  ;  and,  at  the  sight,  a  low  mur- 
mur of  indignation  rose  from  the  ambushed  Englishmen,  worthy 
of  the  free  and  righteous  hearts  of  those  days,  when  Raleigh  could 
appeal  to  man  and  God,  on  the  ground  of  a  common  humanity, 
in  behalf  of  the  outraged  heathens  of  the  New  World  ;  when 
Englishmen  still  knew  that  man  was  man,  and  that  the  instinct  of 
freedom  was  the  righteous  voice  of  God  ;  ere  the  hapless  seven- 
teenth century  had  brutalized  them  also,  by  bestowing  on  them, 
amid  a  hundred  other  bad  legacies,  the  fatal  gift  of  negro-slaves. 

But  the  first  forty,  so  Amyas  counted,  bore  on  their  backs  a 
burden  which  made  all,  perhaps,  but  him  and  Yeo,  forget  even 
the  wretches  who  bore  it.  Each  basket  contained  a  square  pack- 
age of  carefully  corded  hide  ;  the  look  whereof  friend  Amya* 
knew  full  well. 

"  What's  in  they,  captain  ?  * 

"Gold!"  And  at  that  magic  word  all  eyes  were  strained 
greedily  forward,  and  such  a  rustle  followed,  that  Amyas,  in  the 
very  face  of  detection,  had  to  whisper — 

"  Be  men,  be  men,  or  you  will  spoil  all  yet !  " 
The  last  twenty,  or  so,  of  the  Indians  bore  larger  baskets,  but 
more  lightly  freighted,  seemingly  with  manioc,  and  maize-bread, 
and  other  'food  for  the  party  ;  and  after  them  came,  with  their 
bearers  and  attendants,  just  twenty  soldiers  more,  followed  by 
the  officer  in  charge,  who  smiled  away  in  his  chair,  and  twirled 
two  huge  mustachlos,  thinking  of  nothing  less  than  of  the  English 
arrows  which  were  itching  to  be  away  and  through  his  ribs. 
The  ambush,  was-  complete  ;  the  only  question  how  and  when  to 
begin  } 

Amyas  had  a  shrinking,  which  all  will  understand,  from  draw- 
ing bow  in  cool  blood  on  men  so  utterly  unsuspicious  and  de- 
fenceless, even  though  in  the  very  act  of  devilish  cruelty— for 
devilish  cruelty  it  was,  as  three  or  four  drivers  armed  with  whips, 
lingered  up  and  down  the  slowly-staggering  file  of  Indians,  and 
avenged  every  moment's  lagging,  even  every  stumble,  by  a  blow 
of  the  cruel  manati-hide,  which  cracked  like  a  pistol-shot  against 
the  naked  limbs  of  the  silent  and  uncomplaining  victim. 

Suddenly  the  casus  belli,  as  usually  happens,  arose  of  its  own 
accord. 

The  last  but  one  of  the  chained  line  was  an  old  gray-headed 
man,  followed  by  a  slender  graceful  girl  of  some  eighteen  years 
old,  and  Amyas's  heart  yearned  over  them  as  they  came  up. 
Just  as  they  passed,    the 'foremost   of  the  file  had   rounded  the 


WESTWARD  HO!  371 

corner  above  ;  there  was  a  bustle,  and  a  voice  shouted,  "  Halt, 
Sefiors  !  there  is  a  tree  across  the  path  !  " 

"  A  tree  across  the  path  ?"  bellowed  the  officer,  with  a  variety 
of  passionate  addresses  to  the  Mother  of  Heaven,  the  fiends  of 
hell.  Saint  Jago  of  Compystella,  and  various  other  personages  ; 
while  the  line  of  trembling  Indians,  told  to  halt  above,  and  driven 
on  by  blows  below,  surged  up  and  down  upon  the  ruinous  steps 
of  the  Indian  road,  until  the  poor  old  man  fell  grovelling  on  his 
face. 

The  officer  leaped  down,  and  hurried  upward  to  see  what  had 
happened.     Of  course,  he  came  across  the  old  man. 

"  Sin  peccado  concebida  !  Grandfather  of  Beelzebub,  is  this  a 
place  to  lie  worshipping  your  fiends  ?"  and  he  pricked  the  pros- 
trate wretch  with  the  point  of  his  sword. 

The  old  man  tried  to  rise  :  but  the  weight  on  his  head  was  too 
much  for  him  ;  he  fell  again,  and  lay  motionless. 

The  driver  applied  the  manati-hide  across  his  loins,  once,  twice, 
with  fearful  force  ;  but  even  that  specific  was  usel.^::::. 

"  Gastado,  Senor  Capitan,"  said  he,  v/ith  a  shrug.  "  Used  up. 
He  has  been  failing  these  three  months  !  " 

"What  does  the  intendant  mean  by  sending  me  out  with  worn- 
out  cattle  like  these  ?  Forward  there  !  "  shouted  he.  "  Clear 
away  the  tree,  Sefiors,  and  I'll  soon  clear  the  chain.  Hold  it  up, 
Pedrillo  !  " 

The  driver  held  up  the  chain,  which  was  fastened  to  the  old 
man's  wrist.  The  officer  stepped  back,  and  flourished  round  his 
head  a  Toledo  blade,  whose  beauty  made  Amyas  oieak  the  Tenth 
Commandment  on  the  spot. 

The  man  was  a  tall,  handsome,  broad-shouldered,  high-bred 
man  ;  and  Amyas  thought  that  he  was  going  to  display  the  strength 
of  his  arm,  and  the  temper  of  his  blade,  in  severing  the  chain  at 
one  stroke. 

Even  he  was  not  prepared  for  the  recondite  fancies  of  a  Spanish 
adventurer,  worthy  son  or  nephew  of  those  first  conquerors,  who 
used  to  try  the  keenness  of  their  swords  upon  the  living  bodies  of 
Indians,  and  regale  themselves  at  meals  with  the  odor  of  roasting 
caciques. 

The  blade  gleamed  in  the  air,  once,  twice,  and  fell  :  not  on  the 
chain,  but  on  the  wrist  which  it  fettered.  There  was  a  shriek — a 
crimson  flash — and  the  chain  and  its  prisoner  were  parted  indeed. 

One  moment  more,  and  Amyas's  arrow  would  have  been  through 
the  throat  of  the  murderer,  who  paused,  regarding  his  workman- 
ship with  a  satisfied  smile  ;  but  vengeance  was  not  to  come  from 
him. 

Quick  and  fierce  as  a  tiger-cat,  the  girl  sprang  on  the  ruffian, 
and  with  the  intense  strength  of  passion,  clasped  him  in  her  arms, 
and  leaped  with  him  from  the  narrow  ledge  into  the  abyss  below. 

There  was  a  rush,  a  shout ;  all  faces  were  bent  over  the  preci- 
pice.    The  girl  hung  by  her  chained  Vi/-rist  :  the  officer  was  gone. 


^72  fV£STIVAJ?D  Hot 

There  was  a  moment's  awful  silence  ;  and  then  Amy  as  heard  his 
body  crashing  through  the  tree-tops  far  below. 

"  Haul  her  up  !  Hew  her  m  pieces  !  Burn  the  witch  ! "  and 
the  driver,  seizing  the  chain,  pulled  at  it  with  all  his  might,  while 
all  springing  from  their  chairs,  stooped  over  the  brink. 

Now  was  the  time  for  Amyas  !  Heaven  had  delivered  them  in- 
to his  hands.  Swift  and  sure,  at  ten  yards  off,  his  arrow  rushed 
through  the  body  of  the  driver,  and  then,  with  a  roar  as  of  the 
leaping  lion,  he  sprang  like  an  avenging  angel  into  the  midst  of 
the  astonished  ruffians. 

His  first  thought  was  for  the  girl.  In  a  moment,  by  sheer 
strength,  he  had  jerked  her  safely  up  into  the  road  ;  while  the 
Spaniards  recoiled  right  and  left,  fancying  him  for  the  moment 
some  mountain  giant  or  supernatural  foe.  His  hurrah  undeceived 
them  in  an  instant,  and  a  cry  of  "  English  !  Lutheran  dogs!" 
arose,  but  arose  too  late.  The  men  of  Devon  had  followed  their 
captain's  lead  :  a  storm  of  arrows  left  five  Spaniards  dead,  and  a 
dozen  more  wounded,  and  down  leapt  Salvation  Yeo,  his  white 
hair  streaming  behind  him,  with  twenty  good  swords  more,  and 
the  work  of  death  began. 

The  Spaniards  fought  like  lions  ;  but  they  had  no  time  to  fix 
their  arquebuses  on  the  crutches  ;  no  room,  in  that  narrow  path, 
to  use  their  pikes.  The  English  had  the  wall  of  them  ;  and  to 
have  the  wall  there,  was  to  have  the  foe's  life  at  their  mercy.  Five 
desperate  minutes,  and  not  a  living  Spaniard  stood  upon  those 
steps  ;  and  certainly  no  living  one  lay  in  the  green  abyss  below. 
Two  only,  who  were  behind  the  rest,  happening  to  be  in  full  ar- 
mor, escaped  without  mortal  wound,  and  fled  down  the  hill  again. 

"After them!  Michael  Evans  and  Simon  Heard;  and  catch 
them  if  they  run  a  league." 

The  two  long  and  lean  Clovelly  men,  active  as  deer  from  forest 
training,  ran  two  feet  for  the  Spaniard's  one  ;  and  in  ten  minutes 
returned,  having  done  their  work  ;  while  Amyas  and  his  men 
hurried  past  the  Indians,  to  help  Gary  and  the  party  forward, 
where  shouts  and  musket  shots  announced  a  sharp  affray. 

Their  arrival  settled  the  matter.  All  the  Spaniards  fell  but 
three  or  four,  who  scrambled  down  the  crannies  of  the  cliff. 

"  Let  not  one  of  them  escape  !  Slay  them  as  Israel  slew  Ama- 
lek  ! "  cried  Yeo,  as  he  bent  over  ;  and  ere  the  wretches  could 
reach  a  place  of  shelter,  an  arrow  was  quivering  in  each  body,  as 
it  rolled  lifeless  down  the  rocks. 

"  Now  then  !     Loose  the  Indians  ! " 

They  found  armorers'  tools  on  one  of  the  dead  bodies,  and  it 
was  done. 

"We  are  your  friends,"  said  Amyas.  "  All  we  ask  is,  that  vou 
shall  help  us  to  carry  this  gold  down  to  the  Magdalena,  and  then 
you  are  free." 

Some  few  of  the  younger  grovelled  at  his  knees,  and  kissed  his 
feet,  hailing  him  as  the  child  of  the  Sun  ;  but  the  most  part  kept 
a  stolid  indifference,  and  when  freed  from  their  fetters,  sat  quietiy 


WESTWARD  HO!  1-]^ 

down  where  they  stood,  staring  into  vacancy.  The  iron  had  en- 
tered too  deeply  into  their  soul.  They  seemed  past  hope,  enjoy- 
ment, even  understanding. 

But  the  young  girl,  who  was  last  of  all  in  the  line,  as  soon  as 
she  was  loosed,  sprang  to  her  father's  body,  sp<;aking  no  word, 
lifted  it  in  her  thin  arms,  laid  it  across  her  knees  kissed  the  fallen 
lips,  stroked  the  furrowed  cheeks,  murmured  inarticulate  sounds 
like  the  cooing  of  a  woodland  dove,  of  which  none  knew  the 
meaning  but  she,  and  he  who  heard  not,  for  his  soul  had  long 
since  fled.  .Suddenly  the  truth  flashed  on  her  ;  silent  as  ever,  she 
drew  one  long  heaving  breath,  and  rose  erect,  the  body  in  her  arms. 

Another  moment,  and  she  had  leaped  into  the  abyss. 

They  watched  her  dark  and  slender  limbs,  twined  closely  round 
the  old  man's  corpse,  turn  over,  and  over,  and  over  till  a  crash 
among  the  leaves,  and  a  scream  among  the  birds,  told  that  she 
had  reached  the  trees  ;  and  the  green  roof  hid  her  from  their  view, 

••  Brave  lass  I  "  shouted  a  sailor, 

"The  Lord  forgive  her  !  '*  said  Yeo.  "  But,  your  worship,  we 
must  have  these  rascals'  ordnance." 

"  And  their  clothes  too,  Yeo,  if  we  wish  to  get  down  the  Mag- 
dalena  unchallenged.  Now  listen,  my  masters  all  !  We  have 
won,  by  God's  good  grace,  gold  enough  to  serve  us  the  rest  of  our 
lives,  and  that  without  losing  a  single  man  ;  and  may  yet  win  more, 
if  we  be  wise,  and  He  thinks  good.  But  oh,  my  friends  remember 
Mr.  Oxenham  and  his  crew  ;  and  do  not  make  God's  gift  our  ruin, 
by  faithlessness,  or  greediness,  or  any  mutinous  haste." 

'■'  You  shall  find  none  in  us  !"  cried  several  men.  "We  know 
your  worship.     We  can  trust  our  general." 

•'  Thank  God  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  Now  then,  it  will  be  no  shame 
or  sin  to  make  the  Indians  carry  it,  saving  the  women,  whom  God 
forbid  we  should  burden.  But  we  must  pass  through  the  very 
heart  of  the  Spanish  settlements  and  by  the  town  of  Saint  Martha 
itself.  So  the  clothes  and  weapons  of  these  Spaniards  we^  must 
have,  let  it  cost  us  what  labor  it  may.  How  many  lie  in  the 
road  ?  " 

"Thirteen  here,  and  about  ten  up  above,"  said  Gary. 

"  Then  there  are  near  twenty  missing.  Who  will  volunteer  to 
go  down  over  cliff,  and  bring  up  the  spoil  of  them  ?  " 

"  I,  and  I,  and  I  ;  "  and  a  dozen  stepped  out,  as  they  did  always 
when  Amyas  wanted  anything  done  ;  for  the  simple  reason,  that 
they  knew  that  he  meant  to  help  at  the  doing  of  it  himself. 

"  Very  well,  then,  follow  me  Sir  John,  take  the  Indian  lad 
for  your  interpreter,  and  try  and  comfort  the  souls  of  these  poor 
heathens.     Tell  them  that  they  shall  all  be  free." 

"  Why,  whc  is  that  comes  up  the  road  ?" 

All  eyes  were  turned  in  the  direction  of  which  he  spoke.  And, 
wonder  of  wonders  !  up  came  none  other  than  Ayacanora  herself, 
blow-gun  in  hand,  bow  on  back,  and  bedecked  in  all  her  feather 
garments,  which  last  were  rather  the  worse  for  a  fortnight's  wood- 
land travel. 


.^,  IVESTWARD  HOI 

All  stood  mute  with  astonishment,  as,  seeing  Amyas,  she  utterec^ 
a  cry  of  joy,  quickened  her  pace  into  a  run,  and  at  last  fell  panting 
and  exhausted  at  his  feet. 

'•  I  have  found  you  !  "  she  said  ;  "  you  ran  away  from  me,  but 
you  could  not  escape  me  !  "  And  she  fawned  round  Amyas,  like 
a  dog  who  has  found  his  master,  and  then  sat  down  on  the  bank, 
and  burst  into  wild  sobs. 

"  God  help  us  I  "  said  Amyas,  clutching  his  hair,  as  he  looked 
down  upon  the  beautiful  weeper.  "  What  am  1  to  do  with  her, 
over  and  above  all  these  poor  heathens  ?  " 

But  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost,  and  over  the  clifThe  scrambled  ; 
while  the  girl  seeing  that  the  main  body  of  the  English  remained, 
sat  down  on  a  point  of  rock  to  watch  him. 

After  half-an -hour's  hard  work,  the  weapons,  clothes,  and  armor 
of  the  fallen  Spaniards  were  hauled  up  the  cliff,  and  distributed 
in  bundles  among  the  men  ;  the  rest  of  the  corpses  were  thrown 
over  the  precipice,  and  they  started  again  upon  their  road  toward 
the  Magdalena,  while  Yeo  snorted  like  a  war-horse  v/ho  smells 
the  battle  at  the  delight  of  once  more  handling  powder  and  ball. 

"  We  can  face  the  world  now,  sir  !  Why  not  go  back  and  try 
Santa  Ft!,  after  all  ? " 

But  Amyas  thought  that  enough  was  as  good  as  a  feast,  and 
they  held  on  downwards,  while  the  slaves  followed,  without  a 
sign  of  gratitude,  but  meekly  obedient  to  their  new  masters,  and 
testifying  now  and  then  by  a  sign  or  a  grunt,  their  surprise  at  no^ 
being  beaten,  or  made  to  carry  their  captors.  Some,  however, 
caught  sight  of  the  little  calabashes  of  coca  which  the  Englisr> 
carried.  That  woke  them  from  their  torpor,  and  they  bega.n 
coaxing-  abjectly  (and  not  in  vain)  for  a  taste  of  that  miraculous 
herb,  which  would  not  only  make  food  unnecessary,  and  enable 
their  panting  lungs  to  endure  that  keen  mountain  air  ;  but  would 
rid  them  for  awhile  at  least,  of  the  fallen  Indian's  most  unpitying 
foe,  the  malady  of  thought. 

As  the  cavalcade  turned  the  corner  of  the  mountain,  they  paused 
for  one  last  look  at  the  scene  of  that  fearful  triumph.  Lines 
of  vultures  were  already  streaming  out  of  infinite  space,  as  if 
created  suddenly  for  the  occasion,  A  few  hours  and  there  would 
be  no  trace  of  that  fierce  fray,  but  a  few  white  bones  amid  un- 
trodden beds  of  flowers. 

And  now  Amyas  had  time  to  ask  Ayacanora  the  meaning  of 
this  her  strange  appearance.  He  wished  her  anyv.'here  but  where 
she  was  :  but  now  that  she  was  here,  what  heart  could  be  so  hard 
as  not  to  take  pity  on  the  poor  wild  thing  }  And  Am.yas  as  he 
spoke  to  her  had,  perhaps,  a  tenderness  in  his  tone,  from  very  fear 
of  hurting  her,  which  he  had  never  used  before.  Passionately  she 
told  him  how  she  had  followed  on  their  track  day  and  night,  and 
had  every  evening  made  sounds,  as  loud  as  she  dared,  in  hopes  of 
their  hearing  her,  and  either  rvaiting  for  her,  or  coming  back  to 
see  what  caused  the  noise. 


WESTlVAJiD  HO  I  375 

Amyas  now  recollected  the  strange  roaring  which  had  followed 
them. 

"  Noises  ?     What  did  you  make  them  with  ?  " 

Ayacanora  lifted  her  tinger  with  an  air  of  most  self-satisfied 
mystery  ;  and  then  drew  cautiously  from  under  her  feather  cloai* 
an  object  at  which  Amyas  had  hard  word  to  keep  his  counte 
nance. 

"  Look  !  "  whispered  she,  as  if  half  afraid  that  the  thing  itself 
should  hear  her.     "  I  have  it — the  holy  trumpet  !  " 

There  it  was  verily,  that  mysterious  bone  of  contention  ;  a  hand- 
some earthen  tube  some  two  f-^et  long,  neatly  glazed,  and  painted 
with  quaint  grecques  and  figures  of  animals  ;  a  relic  evidently  of 
some  civilization  nrw  extinct. 

Brimblecombe  rubbed  his  little  fat  hands.  "  Brave  maid  !  you 
have  cheated  Satan  this  time,"  quoth  he  ;  while  Yeo  advised 
that  the  "  idolatrous  relic  "  should  be  forthwith  •'  hove  over  cliff." 

"  Let  be,"  said  Amyas.  "  What  is  the  meaning  of  this,  Ayaca- 
nora ?     And  why  have  you  followed  us  1  " 

She  told  a  long  story,  from  which  Amyas  picked  up,  as  far  as  he 
could  understand  her,  that  that  trumpet  had  been  for  years  the 
torment  of  her  life  ;  the  one  thing  in  the  tribe  superior  to  her  ; 
the  one  thing  which  she  was  not  allowed  to  see,  because,  forsooth, 
she  was  a  woman.  So  she  determined  to  show  them  that  a  woman 
was  as  good  as  a  man  ;  and  hence  her  hatred  of  marriage,  and 
her  Amazonian  exploits.  But  still  the  Piache  would  not  show  her 
that  trumpet,  or  tell  her  where  it  was  :  and  as  for  going  to  seek 
it,  even  she  feared  the  superstitious  wrath  of  the  tribe  at  such  a 
profanation.  But  the  day  after  the  English  went,  the  Piache  chose 
to  express  his  joy  at  their  departure  ;  whereon,  as  was  to  be  ex- 
pected, a  fresh  explosion  between  master  and  pupil,  which  ended, 
she  confessed,  in  her  burning  the  old  rogue's  hut  over  his  head, 
from  which  he  escaped  with  loss  of  all  his  conjuring-tackle,  and 
fled  raging  into  the  woods,  vowing  that  he  would  carry  off  the 
trumpet  to  the  neighboring  tribe.  Whereon,  by  a  sudden  impulse, 
the  young  lady  took  plenty  of  coca,  her  weapons,  and  her  feathers, 
started  on  his  trail,  and  ran  him  to  earth  just  as  he  was  unvailing 
the  precious  mvstery.  At  which  sight  (she  confessed)  she  was 
horribly  afraid, 'and  half  inclined  to  run  ;  but,  gathering  courage 
from  the  thought  that  the  white  men  used  to  laugh  at  the  whole 
matter,  she  rushed  upon  the  hapless  conjuror,  and  bore  off  her 
prize  in  trium.ph  ;  and  there  it  was  ! 

"  I  hope  you  have  not  killed  him  ?  "  said  Amyas. 
"  I  did  beat  him  a  little  ;  but  I  thought  you  would  not  let  me 
kill  him." 

Amyas   was  half  amused  with  her  confession  of  his  authority 
over  her :  but  she  went  on, — 

"  And  then  I  dare  not  go  back  to  the  Indians  ;  so  I  was  forced 
to  come  after  you." 

"And  is  that,   then,  your  only  reason   for  coming  after   us?" 
asked  stupid  Amyas. 


376  WESTWARD  HO  r 

He  had  touched  some  secret  chord — though  what  it  was  he  was 
too  busy  to  inquire.  The  girl  drew  herself  up  proudly,  blushing 
scarlet,  and  said — 

"  You  never  tell  lies.     Do  you  think  that  I  would  tell  lies  ? " 

On  which  she  fell  to  the  rear,  and  followed  them  steadfastly, 
speaking  to  no  one,  but  evidently  determined  to  follow  them  to  the 
world's  end. 

They  soon  left  the  high  road  ;  and  for  several  days  held  on 
downwards,  hewing  their  path  slowly  and  painfully  through  the 
thick  underwood.  On  the  evening  of  the  fourth  day,  they  had 
reached  the  margin  of  a  river,  at  a  point  where  it  seemed  broad 
and  still  enough  for  navigation.  For  those  three  days  they  had 
not  seen  a  trace  of  human  beings,  and  the  spot  seemed  lonely 
enough  for  them  to  encamp  without  fear  of  discovery,  and  begin 
the  making  of  their  canoes.  They  began  to  spread  themselves 
along  the  stream,  in  search  of  the  soft-wooded  trees  proper  for 
their  purpose  ;  but  hardly  had  their  search  began,  when,  in  the 
midst  of  a  dense  thicket,  they  came  upon  a  sight  which  filled  them 
with  astonishment.  Beneath  a  honeycombed  cliff,  which  supported 
one  enormous  cotton-tree,  was  -a  spot  of  some  thirty  yards  square 
sloping  down  to  the  stream,  planted  in  rows  with  magnificent 
banana-plants,  full  twelve  feet  high,  and  bearing  among  their  huge 
waxy  leaves  clusters  of  ripening  fruit  ;  while  under  their  mellow 
shade,  yams  and  cassava  plants  were  flourishing  luxuriantly,  the 
whole  being  surrounded  by  a  hedge  of  orange  and  scarlet  flowers. 
There  it  lay,  streaked  with  long  shadows  from  the  setting  sun, 
while  a  cool  southern  air  rustled  in  the  cotton-tree,  and  flapped  to 
and  fro  the  great  banana-leaves  ;  a  tiny  paradise  of  art  and  care. 
But  where  was  its  inhabitant  ? 

Aroused  by  the  noise  of  their  approach,  a  figure  issued  from  a 
cave  in  the  rocks,  and,  after  gazing  at  them  for  a  moment,  came 
down  the  garden  towards  them.  He  was  a  tall  and  stately  old 
man,  whose  snow-white  beard  and  hair  covered  his  chest  and 
shoulders,  while  his  lower  limbs  were  wrapt  in  Indian-web. 
Slowly  and  solemnly  he  approached,  a  staff"  in  one  hand,  a  string 
of  beads  in  the  other,  the  living  likeness  of  some  old  Hebrew 
prophet,  or  anchorite  of  ancient  legend.  He  bowed  courteously 
to  Amyas  (who  of  course  returned  his  salute),  and  was  in  act  to 
speak, 'when  his  eye  fell  upon  the  Indians,  who  were  laying  down 
their  burdens  in  a  heap  under  the  trees.  His  mild  countenance 
assumed  instantly  an  expression  of  the  acutest  sorrow  and  dis- 
pleasure ;  and,  striking  his  hands  together,  he  spoke  in  Spanish — 

"Alas  !  miserable  me!  Alas  !  unhappy  Seftors  !  Do  my  old 
eyes  deceive  me,  and  is  it  one  of  those  evil  visions  of  the  past 
which  haunt  my  dreams  by  night  :  or  has  the  accursed  thirst  of 
gold,  the  ruin  of  my  race,  penetrated  even  into  this  my  solitude  ? 
Oh,  Sefiors,  Sefiors,  know  you  not  that  you  bear  with  you  your 
own  poison,  your  own  familiar  fiend,  the  root  of  every  evil  ?  And 
is  it  not  enough  for  you,  Senors,  to  load  yourselves  with  the  w^edge 
of  Achan,  and  partake  his  doom,  but  you  must  make  these  hap- 


WESTWARD  HO! 


Z11 


less  heathens  the  victims  of  your  greed  and  cruelty,  and  forestall 
for  them  on  earth  those  torments  which  may  await  their  un- 
baptized  souls  hereafter  ?  " 

"  We  have  preserved,  and  not  enslaved  these  Indians,  ancient 
Sefior,"  said  Amyas  proudly;  "and  to-morrow  will  see  them  as 
free  as  the  birds  over  our  heads." 

"Free  ?  Then  you  cannot  be  countrymen  of  mine  !  But  par- 
don an  old  man,  my  son,  if  he  has  spoken  too  hastily  in  the  bitter- 
ness of  his  own  experience.  But  who  and  whence  are  you  ?  And 
why  are  you  bringing-  into  this  lonely  wilderness  that  gold — for  I 
know  too  well  the  shape  of  those  accursed  packets,  which  would 
God  that  I  had  never  seen  !  " 

"  What  we  are,  reverend  sir,  matters  little,  as  long  as  we  be- 
have to  you  as  the  young  should  to  the  old.  As  for  our  gold, 
it  will  be  a  curse  or  a  blessing  to  us,  I  conceive,  just  as  we  use 
it  well  or  ill  ;  and  so  is  a  man's  head,  or  his  hand,  or  any  other 
thing;  but  that  is  no  reason  for  cutting  off  his  limbs  for  fear  of 
doing  harm  with  them  ;  neither  is  it  for  throwing  away  those 
packages,  which,  by  your  leave,  we  shall  deposit  in  one  of  these 
caves.  We  must  be  your  neighbors,  I  fear,  for  a  day  or  two  ; 
but  I  can  promise  you,  that  your  garden  shall  be  respected,  on 
condition  that  you  do  not  inform  any  human  soul  of  our  being 
here." 

"  God  forbid,  Sefior,  that  I  should  try  to  increase  the  number  of 
my  visitors,  much  less  to  bring  hither  strife  and  blood,  of  which  I 
have  seen  too  much  already.  As  you  have  come  in  peace,  in 
peace  depart.  Leave  me  alone  with  God  and  my  penitence,  and 
may  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  you  !  " 

And  he  was  about  to  withdraw,  when,  recollecting  himself,  he 
turned  suddenly  to  Amyas  again — 

"  Pardon  me,  Sefior,  if,  after  forty  years  of  utter  solitude,  I 
shrink  at  first  from  the  conversation  of  human  beings,  and  forget, 
in  the  habitual  shyness  of  a  recluse,  the  duties  of  a  hospitable 
gentleman  of  Spain.  My  garden,  and  all  which  it  produces,  is  at 
your  service.  Only  let  me  entreat  that  these  poor  Indians  shall 
nave  their  share  ;  for  heathens  though  they  be,  Christ  died  for 
them  ;  and  I  cannot  but  cherish  in  my  soul  some  secret  hope  that 
He  did  not  die  in  vain." 

"God  forbid  !  "  said  Brimblecombe.  "They  are  no  worse  than 
we,  for  aught  I  see,  whatsoever  their  fathers  may  have  been  ;  and 
they  have  fared  no  worse  than  we  since  they  have  been  with  us, 
nor  will,  I  promise  you." 

The  good  fellow  did  not  tell  that  he  had  been  starving  himself 
for  the  last  three  days  to  cram  the  children  with  his  own  rations  ; 
and  that  the  sailors,  and  even  Amyas,  had  been  going  out  of  their 
way  every  five  minutes,  to  get  fruit  for  their  new  pets. 

A  camp  was  soon  formed  ;  and  that  evening  the  old  hermit 
asked  Amyas,  Gary,  and  Brimblecombe  to  come  up  into  his 
cavern. 

They  went ;  and  after  the  accustomed  compliments  had  passed. 


378  WESTWARD  HOI 

sat  down  on  mats  upon  the  ground,  while  the  old  man  stood, 
leaning  against  a  slab  of  stone  surmounted  by  a  rude  wooden 
cross,  which  evidently  served  him  as  a  place  of  prayer.  He 
seemed  restless  and  anxious,  as  if  he  waited  for  them  to  begin  the 
conversation  ;  while  they,  in  their  turn,  waited  for  him.  At  last, 
when  courtesy  would  not  allow  him  to  be  silent  any  longer,  he 
began  with  a  faltering  voice, — 

"  You  may  be  equally  surprised,  Senors,  at  my  presence  in  such 
a  spot,  and  at  my  asking  you  to  become  my  guests  even  for  one 
evening,  while  I  have  no  better  hospitality  to  offer  you." 

"It  is  superfluous,  Senor,  to  offer  us  food  in  your  own  habita- 
tion when  you  have  already  put  all  that  you  possess  at  our  com- 
mand." 

"  True,  Senors  :  and  my  motive  for  inviting  you  was,  perhaps, 
some  what  of  a  selfish  one.  I  am  possessed  by  a  longing  to  un- 
burthen  my  heart  of  a  tale  which  I  never  yet  told  to  man  ;  and 
which  I  fear  can  give  to  you  nothing  but  pain  :  and  yet  I  will  en- 
treat you,  of  your  courtesy,  to  hear  of  that  which  you  cannot 
amend,  simply  in  mercy  to  a  man  who  feels  that  he  must  confess 
to  some  one,  or  die  as  miserable  as  he  has  lived.  And  I  believe 
my  confidence  will  not  be  misplaced,  when  it  is  bestowed  upon 
you.  I  have  been  a  cavalier,  even  as  you  are  ;  and,  strange  as  it 
may  seem,  that  which  I  have  to  tell  I  would  sooner  impart  to  the 
ears  of  a  soldier  than  of  a  priest ;  because  it  will  then  sink  into 
souls  which  can  at  least  sympathize,  though  they  cannot  absolve. 
And  you,  cavaliers,  I  perceive  to  be  noble,  from  your  very  looks  ; 
to  be  valiant,  by  your  mere  presence  in  this  hostile  land  ;  and  to 
be  gentle,  courteous,  and  prudent,  by  your  conduct  this  day  to  me 
and  to  your  captives.  Will  you,  then,  hear  an  old  man's  tale  ?  I 
am,  as  you  see,  full  of  words  ;  for  speech,  from  long  disuse,  is  dif- 
ficult to  me,  and  I  fear  at  every  sentence  lest  my  stiffened  tongue 
should  play  the  traitor  to  my  worn-out  brain  :  but  if  my  request 
seems  impertinent,  you  have  only  to  bid  me  talk  as  a  host  should, 
of  matters  which  concern  his  guests,  and  not  himself." 

The  three  young  men,  equally  surprised  and  interested  by  this 
exordium,  could  only  entreat  their  host  to  "  use  their  ears  as  those 
of  his  slaves,"  on  which,  after  fresh  apologies,  he  began — 

"  Know,  then,  victorious  cavaliers,  that  I,  whom  you  now  see 
here  as  a  poor  hermit,  was  formerly  one  of  the  foremost  of  that 
terrible  band  who  went  with  Pizarro  to  the  conquest  of  Peru. 
Eighty  years  old  am  I  this  day,  unless  the  calendar  which  I  have 
carved  upon  yonder  tree  deceives  me  ;  and  twenty  years  old  was 
I  when  I  sailed  with  that  fierce  man  from  Panama,  to  do  that  deed 
with  which  all  earth,  and  heaven,  and  hell  itself,  I  fear,  has  rung 
How  we  endured,  suffered,  and  triumphed  ;  how,  mad  with  success, 
and  glutted  with  blood,  we  turned  our  swords  against  each  other, 
I  need  not  tell  to  you.  For  what  gentleman  of  Europe  knows 
not  our  glory  and  our  shame  ?  " 
His  hearers  bowed  assent. 
*'  Yes  ;  you  have  heard  of  our  prowess  :  for  glorious  wc  were 


WESTWARD  HO!  370 

awhile,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man.  But  1  will  not  speak  of  our 
glory,  for  it  is  tarnished  ;  nor  of  our  wealth,  for  it  was  our  poison  ; 
nor  of  the  sins  of  my  comrades,  for  they  have  expiated  them  ;  but 
of  my  own  sins,  Senors,  which  are  more  in  number  than  the  hairs 
of  my  head,  and  a  burden  too  great  to  bear.     Miserere  Domine  !  " 

And  smiting  on  his  breast,  the  old  warrior  went  on — 

"  As  I  said,  we  were  mad  with  blood  ;  and  none  more  mad  than 
I.  Surely  it  is  no  fable  that  m.en  are  possessed,  even  in  this  latter 
age,  by  devils.  Why  else  did  I  rejoice  in  slaying  t  Why  else  was  I, 
the  son  of  a  noble  and  truthful  cavalier  of  Castile,  among  the  fore- 
most to  urge  upon  my  general  the  murder  of  the  Inca  ?  Wliy  did 
I  rejoice  over  his  dying  agonies  ?  Why,  when  Don  Ferdinando 
de  Soto  returned,  and  upbraided  us  with  our  villany,  did  I,  instead 
of  confessing  the  sin  which  that  noble  cavalier  set  before  us,  with- 
stand him  to  his  face,  ay,  and  would  have  drawn  the  sword  on  him, 
but  that  he  refused  to  fight  a  liar,  as  he  said  that  I  was  ?  " 

"Then  Don  de  Soto  was  against  the  murder.?  So  his  own 
grandson  told  me.  But  I  had  heard  of  him  only  as  a  tyrant  and  a 
butcher." 

"  Sefior,  he  was  compact  of  good  and  evil,  as  are  other  men  :  he 
has  paid  dearly  for  his  sin  ;  let  us  hope  that  he  has  been  paid  in 
turn  for  his  righteousness." 

John  Brimblecombe  shook  his  head  at  this  doctrine,  but  did  not 
speak. 

"  So  you  know  his  grandson  ?     I  trust  he  is  a  noble  cavalier  ?  '* 

Amyas  was  silent  ;  the  old  gentleman  saw  that  he  had  touched 
some  sore  point,  and  continued— 

"  And  why,  again,  Senors,  did  I  after  that  day  give  myself  up  to 
cruelty  as  to  a  sport  ;  yea,  thought  that  I  did  God  service  by  de- 
stroying the  creatures  whom  He  had  made  ;  I  who  now  dare  not 
destroy  a  gnat,  lest  I  harm  a  being  more  righteous  than  myself? 
Was  I  mad  ?  If  I  was,  how  then  was  I  all  that  while  as  prudent 
as  I  am  this  day  ?  But  I  am  not  here  to  argue,  Senors,  but  to  con- 
fess. In  a  word  there  was  no  deed  of  blood  done  for  the  next  few 
years  in  which  I  had  not  my  share,  if  it  were  but  within  my  reach. 
When  Challcuchima  was  burned,  I  was  consenting  ;  when  that 
fair  girl,  the  wife  of  Inca  Manco,  was  tortured  to  death,  I  smiled  at 
the  agonies  at  which  she  too  smiled,  and  taunted  on  the  soldiers, 
to  try  if  I  could  wring  one  groan  from  her  before  she  died.  You 
know  what  followed,  the  pillage,  the  violence,  the  indignities 
offered  to  the  virgins  of  the  Sun.  Senors,  I  will  not  pollute  your 
chaste  ears  with  what  was  done.     But,  Senors,  I  had  a  brother." 

And  the  old  man  paused  awhile. 

"  A  brother — whether  better  or  worse  than  me,  God  knows,  be- 
fore whom  he  has  appeared  ere  now.  At  least  he  did  not,  as  I 
did,  end  as  a  rebel  to  his  king  !  There  was  a  maiden  in  one  of 
those  convents,  Sefiors,  more  beautiful  than  day  :  and  (I  blush  to 
tell  it)  the  two  brothers  of  whom  I  spoke  quarrelled  for  the  posses- 
sion of  her.  They  struck  each  other,  Senors  1  Who  struck  first, 
I  know  not  ;  but  swords  were  drav/n,  and .     The  cavalier-j 


380  WESnVARD  HOI 

round  parted  them,  crying  shame.  And  one  of  those  two  brothers 
—the  one  who  speaks  to  you  now — crying,  '  If  I  cannot  have  her, 
no  man  shall  !  *  turned  the  sword  which  was  aimed  at  his  brother, 
against  that  hapless  maiden — and — hear  me  out,  Sefiors,  before  you 
flee  from  my  presence  as  from  that  ot  a  monster  ! — stabbed  her  to 
the  heart.  And  as  she  died — one  moment  more,  Sefiors,  that  I 
may  confess  all  ! — she  looked  up  in  my  face  with  a  smile  as  of 
heaven,  and  thanked  me  for  having  rid  her  once  and  for  all  from 
Christians  and  their  villany." 

The  old  man  paused. 

"  God  forgive  you,  Sefior  !  "  said  Jack  Brimblecombe  softly 

"You  do  not,  then,  turn  from  me  .''  Do  not  curse  me  ?  Then 
I  will  try  you  farther  still,  Sefiors.  I  will  know  from  human  lips, 
whether  man  can  do  such  deeds  as  I  have  done,  and  yet  be  pitied 
by  his  kind  ;  that  so  I  may  have  some  hope,  that  where  man  has 
mercy,  God  may  have  mercy  also.  Do  you  think  that  I  repented 
at  those  awful  words  ?  Nothing  less,  Senors  all.  No  more  than 
I  did  when  De  Soto  (on  whose  soul  God  have  mercy)  called  me — 
me,  a  liar  !  I  knew  myself  a  sinner ;  and  for  that  very  reason  I 
was  determined  to  sin.  I  would  go  on,  that  I  might  prove  myself 
right  to  myself,  by  showing  that  I  could  go  on,  and  not  be  struck 
dead  from  heaven.  Out  of  mere  pride,  Senors,  and  self-will,  I 
would  fill  up  the  cup  of  my  iniquity  ;  and  I  filled  it. 

"You  know,  doubtless,  Sefiors,  how,  after  the  death  of  old  Al- 
magro,  his  son's  party  conspired  against  Pizarro.  Now  my  brother 
remained  faithful  to  nis  old  commander  ;  and  for  that  very  reason, 
if  you  will  believe  it,  did  I  join  the  opposite  party,  and  gave  my- 
self up,  body  and  soul,  to  do  Almagro's  work.  It  was  enough  for 
me,  that  the  brother  who  had  struck  me  thought  a  man  right,  for 
me  to  think  that  man  a  devil.  What  Almagro's  work  was,  you 
know.  He  slew  Pizarro.  Murdered  him,  Sefiors,  like  a  dog,  or 
rather,  like  an  old  lion." 

"  He  deserved  his  doom,"  said  Amyas. 

"  Let  God  judge  him,  Sefior,  not  we  ;  and  least  of  all  of  us  I, 
who  drew  the  first  blood,  and  perhaps  the  last,  that  day.  I,  Sefiors, 
it  was  who  treacherously  stabbed  Francisco  de  Chanes  on  the  stair- 
case, and  so  opened  the  door  which  else  had  foiled  us  all ;  and  I 
— but  I  am  speaking  to  men  of  honor,  not  to  butchers.  Suffice  it 
that  the  old  man  died  like  a  lion,  and  that  we  pulled  him  down, 
young  as  we  were,  like  curs. 

"  Well,  I  followed  Almagro's  fortunes.  I  helped  to  slay  Alva- 
rado.  Call  that  my  third  murder,  if  you  will,  for  if  he  was  traitor 
to  a  traitor,  I  was  traitor  to  a  true  man.  Then  to  the  war  ;  you 
know  how  Vacade  Castro  was  sent  from  Spain  to  bring  order  and 
justice  where  was  nought  but  chaos,  and  the  dance  of  all  devils. 
We  met  him  on  the  hills  of  Chupas.  Peter  of  Candia,  the  Vene- 
tian villain,  pointed  our  guns  false,  and  Almagro  stabbed  him  to 
the  heart.  We  charged  with  our  lances,  man  against  man,  horse 
against  horse.  All  fights  I  ever  fought "  (and  the  old  man's  eyes 
flashed  out  the  ancient  fire)  "were  child's  play  to  that  day.     Our 


WESTWARD  HOI  38 1 

lances  shivered  like  reeds,  and  we  fell  on  with  battle-axe  and  mace. 
None  asked  for  quarter,  and  none  gave  it ;  friend  to  friend,  cousin 
to  cousin— no,  nor  brother,  oh  God  !  to  brother.  We  were  the 
better  armed  :  but  numbers  were  on  their  side.  Fat  Carbajal 
charged  our  cannon  like  an  elephant,  and  took  them  ;  but  Hol- 
guin  was  shot  down.  I  was  with  Almagro,  and  we  swept  all  be- 
fore us,  inch  by  inch,  but  surely,  till  the  night  fell.  Then  Vaca  de 
Castro,  the  licentiate,  the  clerk,  the  schoolman,  the  man  of  books, 
came  down  on  us  with  his  reserve  like  a  whirlwind.  Oh  !  cava- 
liers, did  not  God  fight  against  us,  when  He  let  us,  the  men  of 
iron,  us,  the  heroes  ofCuzco  and  Vilcaconga,  be  foiled  by  a  scholar 
in  a  black  gown,  with  a  pen  behind  his  ear  ?  We  were  beaten. 
Some  ran  ;  some  did  not  run,  Senors  ;  and  I  did  not.  Geron- 
imo  de  Alvarado  shouted  to  me,  '  We  slew  Pizarro  !  We  killed  the 
tyrant !  '  and  we  rushed  upon  the  conqueror's  lances,  to  die  like 
cavaliers.  There  was  a  gallant  gentleman  in  front  of  me.  His 
lance  struck  me  in  the  crest,  and  bore  me  over  my  horse's  croup  : 
but  mine.  Senors,  struck  him  full  in  the  vizor.  We  both  went  to 
the  ground  together,  and  the  battle  galloped  over  us. 

"  1  know  not  how  long  I  lay,  for  I  was  stunned  :  but  after 
awhile  I  lifted  myself.  My  lance  was  still  clenched  in  my  hand, 
broken  but  not  parted.  The  point  of  it  was  in  my  foeman's  brain. 
I  crawled  to  him,  weary  and  wounded,  and  saw  that  he  was  a 
noble  cavalier.  He  lay  on  his  back,  his  arms  spread  wide.  I  knew 
that  he  was  dead  :  but  there  came  over  me  the  strangest  long- 
ing to  see  that  dead  man's  face.  Perhaps  I  knew  him.  At 
least  I  could  set  my  foot  upon  it,  and  say,  '  Vanquished  as  I  am, 
there  lies  a  foe  !  '  I  caught  hold  of  the  rivets,  and  tore  his  helmet 
off.     The  moon  shone  bright,  Sefiors,  as  bright  as  she  shines  now 

the  glaring,  ghastly,  tell-tale  moon,   which  shows  man  all  the 

sins  which  he  tries  to  hide  ;  and  by  that  moonlight,  Senors,  I  beheld 
the  dead  man's  face.     And  it  was  the  face  of  my  brother  ! 

"  Did  you  ever  guess,  most  noble  cavaliers,  what  Cain's  curse 
might  be  like  ?     Look  on  me,  and  know  ! 

-  I  tore  off  my  armor  and  fled,  as  Cain  fled— northward  ever, 
till  I  should  reach  a  land  where  the  name  of  Spaniard,  yea,  and 
the  name  of  Christian,  which  the  Spaniard  has  caused  to  be  blas- 
phemed from  east  to  west,  should  never  come.  I  sank  faintmg, 
and  waked  beneath  this  rock,  this  tree,  forty-four  years  ago,  and 
I  have  never  left  them  since,  save  once  to  obtam  seeds  from  In- 
dians, who  knew  not  that  I  was  a  Spanish  Conquistador.  And 
may  God  have  mercy  on  my  soul  ! "  ,       ,      rr       j  v 

The  old  man  ceased  ;  and  his  young  hearers,  deeply  affected  by 
his  tale,  sat  silent  for  a  few  minutes.  Then  John  Brimblecombe 
spoke —  ,        ,  ,    , 

"  You  are  old,  sir,  and  I  am  young  ;  and  perhaps  it  is  not  my 
place  to  counsel  you.  Moreover,  sir.  in  spite  of  this  strange  dress 
of  mine,  I  am  neither  more  nor  less  than  an  English  jDnest  ;  and 
I  suppose  you  will  not  be  willing  to  listen  to  a  heretic.  ' 


^g2  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

"  1  have  seen  Catholics,  Sefior,  commit  too  many  abominations 
even  with  the  name  of  God  upon  their  lips,  to  shrink  from  a  here- 
jic  if  he  speak  wisely  and  well.  At  least,  you  are  a  man  ;  and 
after  all,  my  heart  yearns  more  and  more,  the  longer  I  sit  among 
you,  for  the  speech  of  beings  of  my  own  race.  Say  what  you  v/ill, 
in  God's  name  !  " 

"  I  hold,  sir,"  said  Jack  modestly,  "  according  to  holy  Scripture, 
that  whosoever  repents  from  his  heart,  as  God  knows  you  seem  to 
have  done,  is  forgiven  there  and  then  ;  and  though  his  sins  be  as 
scarlet,  they  shall  be  white  as  snow,  for  the  sake  of  Him  who  died 
for  all." 

"  Amen  !  Amen  !  "  said  the  old  man,  looking  lovingly  at  his 
little  crucifix.  "  I  hope  and  pray — His  name  is  Love.  I  know  it 
now  ;  who  better  t  But,  sir,  even  it  He  have  forgiven  me,  how 
can  l' forgive  myself?  In  honor,  sir,  I  must  be  just,  and  sternly 
just,  to  myself,  even  if  God  be  indulgent ;  as  He  has  been  to  me, 
who  has  left  me  here  in  peace  for  forty  years,  instead  of  giving  me 
a  prey  to  the  first  puma  or  jaguar  which  howls  round  me  every 
night.  He  has  given  me  time  to  work  out  my  own  salvation  ;  but 
have  I  done  it  ?  That  doubt  maddens  me  at  whiles-.  When  I 
look  upon  that  crucifix,  I  float  on  boundless  hope  :  but  if  I  take  my 
eyes  from  it  for  a  moment,  faith  fails,  and  all  is  blank,  and  dark 
and  dreadful,  till  the  devil  whispers  me  to  plunge  into  yon  strearn, 
and  once  and  for  ever  wake  to  certainty,  even  though  it  be  in 
hell." 

What  was  Jack  to  answer  ?  He  himself  knew  not  at  first. 
More  was  wanted  than  the  mere  repetition  of  free  pardon. 

"  Heretic  as  I  am,  sir,  you  will  not  believe  me  when  I  teU  you, 
as  a  priest,  that  God  accepts  your  penitence." 

"  My  heart  tells  me  so  already,  at  moments.  But  how  know  I 
that  it  does  not  lie  ?  " 

"  Senor,"  said  Jack,  "  the  best  way  to  punish  oneself  for  doing 
ill,  seems  to  me  to  go  and  do  good  ;  and  the  best  way  to  find  out 
whether  God  means  you  well,  is  to  find  out  whether  He  will  help 
you  to  do  well.  If  you  have  wronged  Indians  in  time  past,  see 
whether  you  cannot  right  them  nov/.  If  you  can,  you  are  safe. 
For  the  Lord  will  not  send  the  devil's  servants  to  do  His  work." 

The  old  man  held  down  his  head. 

"  Right  the  Indians  ?     Alas  !  what  is  done,  is  done  !  " 

"  Not  altogether,  Sefior,"  said  Amyas,  "  as  long  as  an  Indian 
remains  alive  in  New  Granada." 

"  Senor,  shall  I  confess  my  weakness  ?  A  voice  within  me  has 
bid  me  a  hundred  times  to  go  forth  and  labor  for  those  oppressed 
wretches,  but  I  dare  not  obey.  I  dare  not  look  them  in  the  face. 
I  should  fancy  that  they  knew  my  story  ;  that  the  very  birds  upon 
the  trees  would  reveal  my  crime,  and  bid  them  turn  from  me  with 
horror." 

"  Sefior,"  said  Amyas,  "  these  are  but  the  sick  fancies  of  a  noble 
spirit,  feeding  on  itself  in  solitude.  You  have  but  to  try  to  conquer." 

"  And  look  now,"  said  Jack,  "  if  you    dare  not  go  forth   to  he^.p 


WESTWARD  HO  /  3S3 

the  Indians,  see  now  how  God  has  brought  the  Indians  to  your 
own  door.     Oh,  excellent  sir " 

"  Call  me  not  excellent,"  said   the  old   man,  smiting  his  breast 

"  1  do,  and  shall,  sir,  while  I  see  in  you  an  excellent  repentance, 
an  excellent  humility,  and  an  excellent  justice,"  said  Jack.  "  But 
oh,  sir,  look  upon  these  forty  souls,  whom  we  must  leave  behind, 
like  sheep  which  have  no  shepherd.  Could  you  not  teach  them  to 
fear  God  and  to  love  each  other,  to  live  like  rational  men,  perhaps 
to  die  like  Christians  ?  They  would  obey  you  as  a  dog  obeys  his 
master.  You  might  be  their  king,  their  father,  yea,  their  pope,  if 
you  would." 

"  You  do  not  speak  like  a  Lutheran." 

"  I  am  not  a  Lutheran,  but  an  Englishman  :  but,  Protestant  ai 
I  am,  God  knows,  I  had  sooner  see  these  poor  souls  of  your  creed, 
than  of  none." 

"  But  I  am  no  priest." 

"  When  they  are  ready,"  said  Jack,  "  the  Lord  will  send  a  priest. 
If  you  begin  the  good  work,  you  may  trust  to  Him  to  finish  it." 

"  God  help  me  !  "  said  the  old  warrior. 

The  talk  lasted  long  into  the  night,  but  Amyas  was  up  long  be- 
fore daybreak,  felling  the  trees  ;  and  as  he  and  Gary  walked  back 
to  breakfast,  the  first  thing  which  they  saw  was  the  old  man  in  his 
garden  with  four  or  five  Indian  children  round  him,  talking  smiling- 
ly to  them. 

"  The  old  man's  heart  is  sound  still,"  said  Will.  "  No  man  is 
lost  who  still  is  fond  of  little  children." 

"  Ah,  Senors  !  "  said  the  hermit  as  they  came  up,  "  you  see  that 
I  have  begun  already  to  act  upon  your  advice." 

"  And  you  have  begun  at  the  right  end,"  quoth  Amyas  :  "  \f 
you  win  the  children,  you  win  the  mothers." 

"  And  if  you  win  the  mothers,"  quoth  Will,  "the  poor  fathers 
must  needs  obey  their  wives,  and  follow  in  the  wake." 

The  old  man  only  sighed.  "  The  prattle  of  these  little  ones 
softens  my  hard  heart,  Sefxors,  with  a  new  pleasure  ;  but  it  sad- 
dens me,  when  I  recollect  that  there  may  be  children  of  mine  now 
in  the  w^orld — children  who  have  never  known  a  father's  love — never 
known  ought  but  a  master's  threats " 

"  God  has  taken  care  of  these  little  ones.  Trust  that  He  has 
taken  care  of  yours." 

That  day  Amyas  assembled  the  Indians,  and  told  them  that  they 
must  obey  the  hermit  as  their  king,  and  settle  there  as  best  they 
could:  for  if  they  broke  up  and  wandered  away,  nothing  was  left 
for  them  but  to  fall  one  by  one  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards. 
They  heard  him  with  their  usual  melancholy  and  stupid  acquies- 
cence, and  went  and  came  as  they  were  bid,  like  animated  machines  ; 
but  the  Negroes  were  of  a  different  temper  ;  and  four  or  five  stout 
fellows  gave  Amyas  to  understand  that  they  had  been  warriors  in 
their  own  country,  and  that  warriors  they  would  be  still  ;  and 
nothing  should  keep  them  from  Spaniard-hunting.  Amyas  saw 
that  the  presence  of  these  desperadoes  in  the  new  colony  would 


3  84  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

both  endanger  the  authority  of  the  hermit,  and  bring  the  Spaniards 
down  upon  it  in  a  few  weeks  ;  so,  making  a  virtue  of  necessity,  he 
asked  them  whether  they  would  go  Spaniard-hunting  with  him. 

This  was  just  what  the  bold  Coromantees  wished  for  ;  they 
grinned  and  shouted  their  delight  at  serving  under  so  great  a 
warrior,  and  then  set  to  work  most  gallantly,  getting  through  more 
in  the  day  than  any  ten  Indians,  and  indeed  than  any  two  English- 
men. 

So  went  on  several  days,  during  which  the  trees  were  felled,  and 
the  process  of  digging  them  out  began  ;  while  Ayacanora,  silent 
and  moody,  wandered  into  the  woods  all  day  with  her  blow-gun, 
and  brought  home  at  evening  a  load  of  parrots,  monkeys,  and 
curassows  ;  two  or  three  old  hands  were  sent  out  to  hunt  like- 
wise ;  so  that,  what  with  the  game  and  the  fish  of  the  river,  which 
seemed  inexhaustible,  and  the  fruit  of  the  neighboring  palm-trees, 
there  was  no  lack  of  food  in  the  camp.  But  what  to  do  with 
Ayacanora  weighed  heavily  on  the  mind  of  Amyas.  He  opened 
his  heart  on  the  matter  to  the  old  hermit,  and  asked  him 
whether  he  would  take  charge  of  her.  The  latter  smiled,  and 
shook  his  head  at  the  notion.  "  If  your  report  of  her  be  true,  I 
may  as  well  take  in  hand  to  tame  a  jaguar."  However,  he  prom- 
ised to  try  ;  and  one  evening,  as  they  were  all  standing  together 
Defore  the  mouth  of  the  cave,  Ayacanora  came  up  smiling  with 
the  fruit  of  her  day's  spot  ;  and  Amyas,  thinking  this  a  fit  op- 
portunity, began  a  carefully-prepared  harangue  to  her,  which  he 
intended  to  be  altogether  soothing,  and  even  pathetic,— to  the  ef- 
fect that  the  maiden,  having  no  parents,  was  to  look  upon  this 
good  old  man  as  her  father  ;  that  he  would  instruct  her  in  the 
white  man's  religion  (at  which  promise  Yeo,  as  a  good  Protestant, 
winced  a  good  deal),  and  teach  her  how  to  be  happy  and  good, 
and  so  forth  ;  and  that,  in  fine,  she  was  to  remain  there  with  the 
hermit. 

She  heard  him  quietly,  her  great  dark  eyes  opening  wider  and 
wider,  her  bosom  swelling,  her  stature  seeming  to  grow  taller 
every  moment,  as  she  clenched  her  weapons  firmly  in  both  her 
hands.  Beautiful  as  she  always  was,  she  had  never  looked  so 
beautiful  before  ;  and  as  Amyas  spoke  of  parting  with  her,  it  was 
like  throwing  away  a  lovely  toy  ;  but  it  must  be  done,  for  her 
sake,  for  his,  perhaps  for  that  of  all  the  crew. 

The  last  words  had  hardly  passed  his  lips,  wnen,  with  a  shriek 
of  mingled  scorn,  rage,  and  fear,  she  dashed  through  the  aston- 
ished group. 

"  Stop  her  !  "  was  Amyas's  first  words  ;  but  his  next  was,  "  Let 
her  go  !  "  for,  springing  like  a  deer  through  the  little  garden,  and 
over  the  flower-fence,  she  turned,  menacing  with  her  blow-gun 
the  sailors,  who  had  already  started  in  her  pursuit. 

"  Let  her  alone,  for  Heaven's  sake  !  "  shouted  Amyas,  who,  he 
scarce  knew  why,  shrank  from  the  thought  of  seeing  those  grace- 
ful limbs  struggling  in  the  seamen's  grasp. 

She  turned  again,  and  in  another  minute  her  gaudy  plumes  had 


WESTWARD  HO  t  .3S5 

vanished  among  the  dark  forest  stems,  as  swiftl)''  as  if  she  had 
been  a  passing  bird, 

AD  stood  thunderstruck  at  this  unexpected  end  to  the  confer- 
ence.    At  last  Amyas  spoke — 

"  There's  no  use  in  standing  here  idle,  gentlemen.  Staring 
after  her  won't  bring  her  back.     After  all,  I'm  glad  she's  gone." 

But  the  tone  of  his  voice  belied  his  words.  Now  he  had  lost 
her,  he  wanted  her  back  ;  and  perhaps  every  one  present,  except 
he,  guessed  why. 

But  Ayacanora  did  not  return  ;  and  ten  days  more  went  on  in 
continual  toil  at  the  canoes  without  any  news  of  her  from  the 
hunters.  Amyas,  by  the  by,  had  strictly  bidden  these  last  not  to 
follow  the  girl,  not  even  to  speak  to  her,  if  they  came  across  her 
in  their  wanderings.  He  was  shrewd  enough  to  guess  that  the 
only  way  to  cure  her  sulkiness  was  to  outsulk  her  ;  but  there  was 
no  sign  of  her  presence  in  any  direction  ;  and  the  canoes  being 
finished  at  last,  the  gold,  and  such  provisions  as  they  could  collect, 
were  placed  on  board,  and  one  evening  the  party  prepared  for 
their  fresh  voyage.  They  determined  to  travel  as  much  as  pos- 
sible by  night,  for  fear  of  discovery,  especially  in  the  neighborhood 
of  the  few  Spanish  settlements  w'hich  were  then  scattered  along 
the  banks  of  the  main  stream.  These,  however,  the  negroes  knew, 
so  that  there  was  no  fear  of  coming  on  them  unawares  ;  and  as 
for  falling  asleep  in  their  night  journeys,  "  Nobody,"  the  negroes 
said,  "  ever  slept  on  the  Magdalena  ;  the  mosquitoes  took  too 
good  care  of  that."  Which  fact  Amyas  and  his  crew  verified  after- 
wards as  thoroughly  as  wretched  men  could  do. 

The  sun  had  sunk  ;  the  night  had  all  but  fallen  ;  the  men  were 
all  on  board  ;  Amyas  in  command  of  one  canoe,  Gary  of  the  other. 
The  Indians  were  grouped  on  the  bank,  watching  the  party  with 
their  listless  stare,  and  with  them  the  young  guide,  who  preferred 
remaining  among  the  Indians,  and  was  made  supremely  happy 
by  the  present  of  a  Spanish  sword  and  an  English  axe  ;  while  in 
the  midst,  the  old  hermit,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  prayed  God's 
blessing  on  them. 

"  I  owe  to  you,  noble  cavaliers,  new  peace,  new  labor,  I  may 
say,  new  life.  May  God  be  v/ith  you,  and  teach  you  to  use  your 
gold  and  your  swords  better  than  1  used  mine." 

The  adventurers  waved  their  hands  to  him. 

"  Give  way,  men,"  cried  Amyas  ;  and  as  he  spoke  the  paddles 
dashed  into  the  water,  to  a  right  English  hurrah  !  which  sent  the 
birds  fluttering  from  their  roosts,  and  was  answered  by  the  yell  of 
a  hundred  monkeys,  and  the  distant  roar  of  the  jaguar. 

About  twenty  yards  below,  a  wooded  rock,  some  ten  feet  high, 
hung  over  the  stream.  The  river  was  not  there  more  than  fifteen 
yards  broad;  deep  near  the  rock,  shallow  on  the  farther  side  ,• 
and  Amyas 's  canoe  led  the  v/ay,  within  ten  feet  of  the  stone. 

As  he'passed,  a  dark  figure' leapt  from  the  bushes  on  the  edge, 
and  plunged  heavily  into  the  water  close  to  the  boat.     All  started 


jg5  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

A  jaguar  ?     No  ;  he  would  not  have  missed  so  short  a  spring. 
What,  then  ?     A  human  being  ? 

A  head  rose  panting  to  the  surface,  and  with  a  few  strong 
strokes,  the  swimmer  had  clutched  the  gunwale.  It  was  Ayaca- 
nora  ! 

"  Go  back  !  "  shouted  Amyas.     "  Go  back,  girl  !  " 

She  uttered  the  same  wild  cry  with  which  she  had  fled  into  the 
forest. 

"  I  will  die,  then  !  "  and  she  threw  up  her  arms.  Another  mo- 
ment, and  she  had  sunk. 

To  see  her  perish  before  his  eyes  !  who  could  bear  that  ?  Her 
hands  alone  were  above  the  surface.  Amyas  caught  convulsively 
at  her  in  the  darkness,  and  seized  her  wrist. 

A  yell  rose  from  the  negroes  :  a  roar  from  the  crew  as  from  a 
cage  of  lions.  There  was  a  rush  and  a  swirl  along  the  surface  of 
the  stream  ;  and  "  Caiman  !  caiman  !"  shouted  twenty  voices. 

Now,  or  never,  for  the  strong  arm  !  "To  larboard,  men,  or 
over  we  go  !  "  cried  Amyas,  and  with  one  huge  heave,  he  lifted 
the  slender  body  upon  the  gunwale.  Her  lower  limbs  were  still 
in  the  water,  when,  within  arm's  length,  rose  above  the  strearn  a 
huge  muzzle.  The  lower  jaw  lay  flat,  the  upper  reached  as  hi^h 
as  Amyas's  head.  He  could  see  the  long  fangs  gleam  white  in 
the  moonshine  ;  he  could  see  for  one  moment,  full  down  the 
monstrous  depths  of  that  great  gape,  which  would  have  crushed 
a  buffalo.  Three  inches,  and  no  more,  from  that  soft  side,  the 
snout  surged  up 

There  was  the  gleam  of  an  axe  from  above,  a  sharp  ringing 
blow,  and  the  jaws  came  together  with  a  clash  which  rang  from 
bank  to  bank.  He  had  missed  her  !  Swerving  beneath  the  blow, 
his  snout  had  passed  beneath  her  body,  and  smashed  up  against 
the  side  of  the  canoe,  as  the  striker  overbalanced,  fell  headlong 
overboard  upon  the  monster's  back. 

"Who  is  it?" 

"  Yeo  !  "  shouted  a  dozen. 

Man  and  beast  went  down  together,  and  where  they  sank,  the 
moonlight  shone  on  a  great  swirling  eddy,  while  all  held  their 
breaths,  and  Ayacanora  cowered  down  into  the  bottom  of  the  canoe, 
her  proud  spirit  utterly  broken,  for  the  first  time,  by  the  terror  of 
that  great  need,  and  by  a  bitter  loss.  For  in  the  struggle,  the 
holy  trumpet,  companion  of  all  her  wanderings,  had  fallen  from 
her  bosom  ;  and  her  fond  hope  of  bringing  magic  prosperity  to 
her  English  friends  had  sunk  with  it  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream. 

None  heeded  her  ;  not  even  Amyas,  round  whose  knees  she 
clung,  fawning  like  a  spaniel  dog  :  for  where  was  Yeo  ? 

Another  swirl  ;  a  shout  from  the  canoe  abreast  of  them,  and 
Yeo  rose,  having  dived  clean  under  his  own  boat,  and  risen  be- 
tween the  two.  ^ 
"  Safe  as  yet,  lads  !     Heave  me  a  line,  or  he'll  have  me  after  all. 
But  ere  the  brute  reappeared,  the  old  man  was  safe  on  board. 
**The  Lord  has  stood  by  me,"  panted  he,  as  he  shot  the  v/atef 


WESTWARD  HO! 


t^T 


from  his  ears.  "  We  went  down  together  :  I  knew  the  Indian 
trick,  and  being  uppermost,  had  my  thumbs  in  his  eyes  before  he 
could  turn  :  but  he  carried  me  down  to  the  very  mud.  My  breath 
was  nigh  gone,  so  I  left  go,  and  struck  up  r  but  my  toes  tingled 
as  I  rose  again,  I'll  warrant.  There  the  beggar  is,  looking  for  me, 
I  declare  !  * 

And,  true  enough,  there  was  the  huge  brute  swimming  slowly 
round  and  round,  in  search  of  his  lost  victim.  It  was  too  dark  to 
put  an  arrow  into  his  eye  ;  so  they  paddled  on,  while  Ayacanora 
crouched  silently  at  Amyas's  feet. 

"  Yeo  !"  asked  he,  in  a  low  voice,  "what  shall  we  do  with 
her?" 

"  Why  ask  me,  sir  ?  "  said  the  old  man,  as  he  had  a  very  good 
right  to  ask. 

"  Because,  when  one  don't  know  oneself,  one  had  best  inquire 
of  one's  elders.  Besides  you  saved  her  life  at  the  risk  of  your  own, 
and  have  a  right  to  a  voice  in  the  matter,  if  any  one  has,  old 
friend." 

"  Then,  my  dear  young  captain,  if  the  Lord  puts  a  precious 
soul  under  your  care,  don't  you  refuse  to  bear  the  burden  He  lays 
on  you." 

Amyas  was  silent  awhile  ;  while  Ayacanora,  who  was  evidently 
utterly  exhausted  by  the  night's  adventure,  and  probably  by  long 
wanderings,  watchings,  and  weepings  which  had  gone  before  it, 
sank  with  her  head  against  his  knee,  fell  fast  asleep,  and  breathed 
as  gently  as  a  child. 

At  last  he  rose  in  the  canoe,  and  called  Cary  alongside. 

"  Listen  to  me,  gentlemen,  and  sailors  all.  You  know  that  we 
have  a  maiden  on  board  here,  by  no  choice  of  our  own.  Whether 
she  will  be  a  blessing  to  us,  God  alone  can  tell  :  but  she  may  turn 
to  the  greatest  curse  which  has  befallen  us  ever  since  we  came  out 
over  Bar  three  years  ago.  Promise  me  one  thing,  or  I  put  her 
ashore  the  next  beach  ;  and  that  is,  that  you  will  treat  her  as  if 
she  were  your  own  sister  ;  and  make  an  agreement  here  and  now, 
that  if  the  maid  comes  to  harm  among  us,  the  man  that  is  guilty 
shall  hang  for  it  by  the  neck  till  he's  dead,  even  though  he  be  I, 
Captain  Leigh,  who  speak  to  you.  I'll  hang  you,  as  I  am  Christian  ; 
and  I  give  you  free  leave  to  hang  me." 

"  A  very  fair  bargain,"  quoth  Cary,  "  and  I  for  one  will  see  it 
kept  to.  Lads,  we'll  twine  a  double  strong  halter  for  the  captain 
as  we  go  down  along." 

"  I  am  not  jesting,  Will." 

"I  know  it,  good  old  lad,"  said  Cary,  stretching  out  his  own 
hand  to  him  across  the  water  through  the  darkness,  and  giving 
him  a  hearty  shake.  "  I  know  it  ;  and  listen,  men!  So  help  me 
God!  but  I'll  be  the  first  to  back  the  Captain  in  being  as  good  as 
his  word,  as  I  trust  he  never  will  need  to  be." 

"Amen!"  said  Brimblecombe.  "Amen!"  said  Yeo;  and 
many  an  honest  voice  joined  in  that  honest  compact,  and  kept  it 
too,  like  men. 


5188  WESTWAJiD  HOI 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

HOW  THEY  TOOK  THE  GREAT  GALLEOH. 

**  When  captains  courageous,  whom  death  could  not  daunt. 
Did  marcli  to  the  siege  of  tlie  city  of  Gaunt, 
They  muster'd  their  soldiers  by  two  and  by  three. 
But  the  foremost  in  battle  was  Mar>'  Ambree. 
When  brave  Sir  John  Major  was  slain  in  her  sight, 
Who  was  her  true  lover,  her  joy  and  delight,  _ 
Because  he  was  murther'd  most  treacherouslie, 
Tlien  vow'd  to  avenge  him  fair  Mary  Ambree." 

Old  Ballad.     A.  D.  1584. 

One  more  glance  at  the  golden  tropic  sea,  and  the  golden 
tropic  evenings,  by  the  shore  of  New  Granada,  in  the  golden 
Spanish  Main. 

The  bay  of  Santo  Martha  is  rippling  before  the  land-breeze  one 
sheet  of  living  flame.  The  mighty  forests  are  sparkling  with 
myriad  fire-flies.  The  lazy  mist  which  lounges  round  the  inner 
hills  shines  golden  in  the  sunset  rays  ;  and,  nineteen  thousand 
feet  aloft,  the  mighty  peak  of  Horqueta  cleaves  the  abyss  of  air, 
rose-red  against  the  dark-blue  vault  of  heaven.  The  rosy  cone 
fades  to  a  dull  leaden  hue  ;  but  only  for  awhile.  The  stars  flash 
out  one  by  one,  and  Venus,  like  another  moon,  tinges  the  eastern 
snows  with  gold,  and  sheds  across  the  bay  a  long  yellow  line  of 
rippling  light.  Everywhere  is  glory  and  richness.  What  wonder 
if  the  earth  in  that  enchanted  land  be  as  rich  to  her  inmost  depths 
as  she  is  upon  the  surface  ?  The  heaven,  the  hills,  the  sea,  are 
one  sparklmg  garland  of  jewels— what  wonder  if  the  soil  be 
jewelled  also  ?  ifevery  watercourse  and  bank  of  earth  be  spangled 
with  emeralds  and  rubies,  with  grains  of  gold  and  feathered 
wreaths  of  native  silver  ? 

So  thought,  in  a  poetic  mood,  the  Bishop  of  Carthagena,  as  he 
sat  in  the  state  cabin  of  that  great  galleon,  The  City  of  the  True 
Cross,  and  looked  pensively  out  ot  the  window  towards  the  shore. 
The  good  man  was  in  a  state  of  holy  calm.  His  stout  figure 
rested  on  one  easy-chair,  his  stout  ankles  on  another,  besides  a 
table  spread  with  oranges  and  limes,  guavas  and  pineapples,  and 
all  the  fruits  of  Ind. 

An  Indian  girl,  bedizened  with  scarfs  and  gold  chams,  kept  ott 
the  flies  with  a  fan  of  feathers  ;  and  by  him,  in  a  pail  of  ice  from 
the  Horqueta  (the  gift  of  some  pious  Spanish  lady,  who  had 
"  spent"  an  Indian  or  two  in  bringing  down  the  precious  off"ering), 
stood  more  than  one  flask  of  virtuous  wine  of  Alicant.  But  he 
was  not  so  selfish,  good  man,  as  to  enjoy  either  ice  or  wine  alone  ; 
Don  Pedro,  colonel  of  the  soldiers  on  board,  Don  Alverez,  IrF- 
tendant  of  His  Catholic  Majesty's  Customs  at  Santa  Martha,  and 
Don   Paul,  captain  of  mariners  in  The  City  of  the_True  Cross, 


WESTWARD  HO!  389 

had,  by  his  especial  request,  come  to  his  assistance  that  evening, 
and'with  two  friars,  who  sat  at  the  lower  end  of  the  table,  were 
doing  their  best  to  prevent  the  good  man  from  taking  too  bitterly 
to  heart  the  present  unsatisfactory  state  of  his  cathedral  town, 
which  had  just  been  sacked  and  burnt  by  an  old  friend  of  ours. 
Sir  Francis  Drake.  „ 

"  We  have  been  great  sufferers,  Senors,— ah,  great  sufferers, 
snuffled  the  bishop,  quoting  Scripture,  after  the  fashion  of  the  day, 
glibly  enough,  but  often  much  too  irreverently  for  me  to  repeat, 
so  boldly  were  his  texts  travestied,  and  so  freely  interlarded  by 
grumblings  at  Tita  and  the  mosquitoes.  "Great  sufferers,  truly  ; 
but  there  shall  be  a  remnant,— ah,  a  remnant  like  the  shakmg  of 
the  olive  tree  and  the  gleaning  grapes  when  the  vintage  is  done. 
—Ah!  Gold?  Yes,  I  trust  Our  Lady's  mercies  are  not  shut  up, 
nor  her  arms  shortened.— Look,  Senors!  "—and  he  pointed  majesti- 
cally out  of  the  window.  "It  looks  gold!  it  smells  of  gold,  as  I 
may  say,  by  a  poetical  licence.  Yea,  the  very  waves,  as  they  ripple 
past  us,  sing  ol  gold,  gold,  gold!  " 

"  It  is  a  great  privilege,"  said  the  intendant,  "to  have  comfort 
so  gracefully  administered  at  once  by  a  churchman  and  a  scholar."- 

"  A  poet,  too,"  said  Don  Pedro.  "You  have  no  notion  what 
sweet  sonnets " 

"  Hush,  Don  Pedro— hush  !  If  I,  a  mateless  bird,  have  spent 
an  idle  hour  in  teaching  lovers  how  to  sing,  why,  what  of  that  ? 
I  am  a  churchman,  Sefiors  ;  but  I  am  a  man  and  I  can  feel, 
Sefiors  ;  I  can  sympathize  ;  I  can  palliate  ;  I  can  excuse.  Who 
knows  better  than  I  how  much  human  nature  lurks  in  us  fallen 
sons  of  Adam  ?     Tita  !  " 

"  Urn  ?  "  said  the  trembling  girl,  with  a  true  Indian  grunt. 

"  Fill  his  Excellency  the  Intendant's  glass.  Does  much  more 
treasure  come  down,  illustrious  Sefior  .?  May  the  poor ^  of  Mary 
hope  for  a  few  more  crumbs  from  their  Mistress's  table  ?  " 

"Not  a  pezo,  I  fear.  The  big  white  cow  up  there" — and  he 
pointed  to  the  Horqueta— "  has  been  milked  dry  for  this  year." 

"  Ah  !  "  And  he  looked  up  at  the  magnificent  snow  peak. 
"  Only  good  to  cool  wine  with,  eh  ?  and  as  safe  for  the  time  being 
as  Solomon's  birds."  ^^ 

"  Solomon's  birds  ?     Explain  your  recondite  allusion,  my  lord. 

-'Enlighten  us,  your  Excellency,  enlighten  us." 

"  Ah  !  thereby  hangs  a  tale.  You  know  the  holy  birds  who  run 
up  and  down  on  the  Prado  at  Seville  among  the  ladies'  pretty 
feet, — eh  ?  with  hooked  noses  and  cinnamon  crests  ?  Of  course. 
Hoopoes— Upupa,  as  the  classics  have  it.  Well,  Sefiors,  once  on 
a  time,  the  story  goes,  these  hoopoes  all  had  golden  crowns  on 
their  heads  ;  and,  Sefiors,  they  took  the  consequences— eh  ?  But 
it  befell  on  a  day  that  all  the  birds  and  beasts  came  to  do  homage  at 
the  court  of  His  Most  Catholic  Majesty  King  Solomon,  and  among 
them  came  these  same  hoopoes  ;  and  they  had  a  little  request  to 
make,  the  poor  rogues.  And  what  do  you  think  it  was  ?  Why, 
that  King  Solomon  would  pray  for  them  that  they  might  wear  any 


390  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

sort  of  crowns  but  these  same  golden  on«s  ;  for — listen,  Tita,  and 
see  the  snare  of  riches — mankind  so  hunted,  and  shot,  and  trapped, 
and  snared  them,  for  the  sake  of  these  same  golden  crowns,  that 
life  was  a  burden  to  bear.  So  Solomon  prayed,  and  instead  of 
golden  crowns,  they  all  received  crowns  of  feathers  ;  and  ever 
since.  Seizors,  they  live  as  merrily  as  crickets  in  an  oven,  and  also 
have  the  honor  of  bearing  the  name  of  His  Most  Catholic  Majesty 
King  Solomon.  Tita  !  fill  the  Senor  Commandant's  glass.  Fray 
Gerundio,  what  are  you  whispering  about  down  there,  sir  ?  " 

Fray  Gerundio  had  merely  commented  to  his  brother  on  the 
bishop's  story  of  Solomon's  birds  with  an — 

"O  si  sic  omnia  ! — would  that  all  gold  would  turn  to  feathers  in 
likewise  !  " 

"  Then,  friend,"  replied  the  other,  a  Dominican,  like  Gerundio, 
but  of  a  darker  and  sterner  complexion,  "corrupt  human  nature 
would  within  a  week  discover  some  fresh  bauble,  for  which  to  kill 
and  be  killed  in  vain." 

"What  is  that.  Fray  Gerundio  ?  "  asked  the  bishop  again. 

"I  merely  remarked,  that  it  were  well  for  the  world  if  all  man- 
kind were  to  put  up  the  same  prayer  as  the  hoopoes." 

"  World,  sir  ?  What  do  you  know  about  the  world  ?  Convert 
your  Indians,  sir,  if  you  please,  and  leave  affairs  of  state  to  your 
superiors.  You  will  excuse  him,  Seftors  "  (turning  to  the  Dons, 
and  speaking  in  a  lower  tone).  "  A  very  worthy  and  pious  man, 
but  a  poor  peasant's  son  ;  and  beside — you  understand.  A  little 
wrong  here  ;  too  much  fasting  and  watching,  I  fear,  good  man." 
And  the  bishop  touched  his  forehead  knowingly,  to  signify  that 
Fray  Gerundio's  wits  were  in  an  unsatisfactory  state. 

The  Fray  heard  and  saw  with  a  quiet  smile.  He  was  one  of 
those  excellent  men  whom  the  cruelties  of  his  countrymen  had 
stirred  up  (as  the  darkness,  by  mere  contrast,  makes  the  light 
more  bright),  as  they  did  Las  Casas,  Gasca,  and  many  another 
noble  name  which  is  written  in  the  book  of  life,  to  deeds  of  love 
and  pious  daring  worthy  of  any  creed  or  age.  True  Protestants, 
they  protested,  even  before  kings,  against  the  evil  which  lay  nearest 
them,  the  sin  which  really  beset  them  ;  true  liberals,  they  did  not 
disdain  to  call  the  dark-skinned  heathen  their  brothers  ;  and  as- 
serted in  terms  which  astonish  us,  when  we  recollect  the  age  in 
which  they  were  spoken,  the  inherent  freedom  of  every  being  who 
wore  the  tiesh  and  blood  which  their  Lord  wore  ;  true  martyrs, 
they  bore  witness  of  Christ,  and  received  too  often  the  reward  of 
such,  in  slander  and  contempt.  Such  an  one  was  Fray  Gerundio  ; 
a  poor,  mean,  clumsy-tongued  peasant's  son,  who  never  could  put 
three  sentences  together,  save  when  he  waxed  eloquent,  crucifix 
in  hand,  amid  some  group  of  Indians  or  negroes.  He  was  accus- 
tomed to  such  rebutfs  as  the  bishop's  ;  he  took  them  for  what 
they  were  worth,  and  sipped  his  wine  in  silence  ;  while  the  talk 
went  on 

"  Thev  say,"  observed  the  commandant,  "  that  a  very  small  Plate- 
fleet  will  go  to  Spain  this  year." 


WESTWARD  HO  i  391 

"What  else?"  says  the  intendant  "What  have  we  to  send, 
in  the  the  name  of  all  saints,  since  these  accursed  English 
Lutherans  have  swept  us  out  clean  ?  " 

"  And  if  we  had  anything  to  send,"  says  the  sea-captain,  "  what 
have  we  to  send  it  in  ?     That  tiend  incarnate,  Drake " 

"  Ah  !  "  said  his  holiness  ;  "  spare  my  ears  !  Don  Pedro,  you 
will  oblige  my  weakness  by  not  mentioning  that  man  ; — his  name 
is  Tartarean,  unfit  for  polite  lips.  Draco— a  dragon— serpent— 
the  emblem  of  Diabolus  himself— ah  I  And  the  guardian  of  the 
golden  apples  of  the  West,  who  would  fain  devour  our  new  Her- 
cules. His  Most  Catholic  Majesty.  Deceived  Eve,  too,  with  one 
of  those  same  apples— a  very  evil  name,  Sefiors — a  Tartarean 
name, — Tita  !  " 

"Urn!" 

"  Fill  my  glass." 

"  Nay,"  cried  the  colonel,  with  a  great  oath,  •'  this  English  fellow 
is  of  another  breed  of  serpent  from  that,  I  warrant." 

"Your  reason,  Sefior  ;  your  reason  ?  " 

"  Because  this  one  would  have  seen  Eve  at  the  bottom  of  the 
sea,  before  he  let  her,  or  any  one  but  himself,  taste  aught  which 
looked  like  gold." 

"  Ah,  ah  ! — very  good  !  But — we  laugh,  valiant  Sefiores,  while 
the  Church  weeps.     Alas  for  my  sheep  !  " 

"  And  alas  for  their  sheepfold  !  It  will  be  four  years  before  we 
can  get  Carthagena  rebuilt  again.  And  as  for  the  blockhouse, 
when  we  shall  get  that  rebuilt,  Heaven  only  knows,  while  His 
Majesty  goes  on  draining  the  Indies  for  his  English  Armada. 
The  town  is  as  naked  now  as  an  Indian's  back." 

"  Baptista  Antonio,  the  surveyor,  has  sent  home  by  me  a  rela- 
tion to  the  king,  setting  forth  our  defenceless  state.  But  to  read 
a  relation  and  to  act  on  it  are  two  cocks  of  very  different  hackles, 
bishop,  as  all  statesmen  know.  Heaven  grant  we  may  have  orders 
by  the  next  fleet  to  fortify,  or  we  shall  be  at  the  mercy  of  every 
English  pirate  !  " 

"  Ah,  that  blockhouse  !  "  sighed  the  bishop.  "  That  was  indeed 
a  villanous  trick.  A  hundred  and  ten  thousand  ducats  for  the 
ransom  of  the  town  !  After  having  burned  and  plundered  the  one- 
half— and  having  made  me  dine  with  them  too,  ah  !  and  sit  be- 
tween the — the  serpent,  and  his  lieutenant-general — and  drank  my 
health  in  my  own  private  wine — wine  that  I  had  from  Xeres  nine 
years  ago,  Sefiors — and  offered,  the  shameless  heretics,  to  take  me 
to  England,  if  I  would  turn  Lutheran,  and  find  me  a  wife,  and 
make  an  honest  man  of  me— ah  !  and  then  to  demand  fresh  ran- 
som  for  the  priory  and  the  fort — perfidious  !  " 

"  Well,"  said  the  colonel,  "  they  had  the  law  of  us,  the  cunning 
rascals,  for  we  forgot  to  mention  anything  but  the  town,  in  the 
agreement.     Who  would  have  dreamed  of  such  a  fetch  as  that  ?  " 

"  So  I  told  my  good  friend  the  prior,  when  he  came  to  me  to 
borrow  the  thousand  crowns.     It  was  Heaven's  will.     Unexpected 


392  WESTWARD  HO  4 

like  the  thunderbolt,  and  to  be  borne  as  such.  Every  man  mu-^ 
bear  his  own  burden.     How  could  I  lend  him  aught  .-*  ' 

"  Your  holiness's  money  had  been  all  carried  off  by  them  before," 
said  the  intendant,  who  knew,  and  none  better,  the  exact  con- 
trary. 

"  Just  so — all  my  scanty  savings  !  desolate  in  my  lone  old  age. 
Ah,  Senors,  had  we  not  had  warning  of  the  coming  of  these  wretches 
from  my  dear  friend  the  Marquess  of  Santa  Cruz,  whom  I  remem- 
ber daily  in  my  prayers,  we  had  been  like  to  them  who  ^o  down 
quick  into  the  pit.  I  too  might  have  saved  a  trifle,  had  I  been 
minded  :  but  in  thinking  too  much  of  others,  I  forgot  myself, 
alas  !  " 

"  Warning  or  none,  we  had  no  right  to  be  beaten  by  such  a 
handful,"  said  the  sea-captain  ;  "  and  a  shame  it  is,  and  a  shame 
it  will  be,  for  many  a  day  to  come. 


"  Do  you  mean  to  cast  any  slur,  sir,  upon  the  courage  and  con- 
duct of  His  Catholic  Majesty's  soldiers  .''  '  asked  the  colonel. 

"  I  ? — No  ;  but  we  were  foully  beaten,  and  that  behind  our  bar- 
ricades too,  and  there's  the  plain  truth." 

"  Beaten,  sir  !  Do  you  apply  such  a  term  to  the  fortunes  of  war  ? 
What  more  could  our  governor  have  done  ?  Had  we  not  the  ways 
filled  with  poisoned  caltrops,  guarded  by  Indian  archers,  barred 
with  butts  full  of  earth,  raked  with  culverins  and  arquebuses  } 
What  familiar  spirit  had  we,  sir,  to  tell  us  that  these  villains  would 
come  along  the  sea-beach,  and  not  by  the  high-road,  like  Christian 
men  ?  " 

"  Ah  !  "  said  the  bishop,  "  it  Was  by  intuition  diabolic,  I  doubt 
not,  that  they  took  that  way.  Satanas  must  need  help  those  who 
serve  him  ;  and  for  my  part,  I  can  only  attribute  (I  would  the  cap- 
tain here  had  piety  enough  to  do  so)  the  misfortune  which  occurred 
to  art-magic.  I  believe  these  men  to  have  been  possessed  by  all 
fiends  whatsoever." 

"  Well,  your  holiness,"  said  the  colonel,  "there  may  have  been 
devilry  in  it  ;  how  else  would  men  have  dared  to  run  right  into 
the  mouths  of  our  cannon,  fire  their  shot  against  our  very  noses, 
and  tumble  harmless  over  those  huge  butts  of  earth  ?  " 

"  Doubtless  by  force  of  the  fiends  which  raged  with  them,"  in- 
terposed the  bishop. 

"  And  then,  with  their  blasphemous  cries,  leap  upon  us  with 
sword  and  pike?  I  myself  saw  that  Lieutenant-General  Carlisle 
hew  down  with  one  stroke  that  noble  young  gentleman  the  ensign- 
bearer,  your  Excellency's  sister's  son's  nephew,  though  he  was 
armed  cap-i-pi^.  Was  not  art-magic  here  ?  And  that  most  furi- 
ous and  blaspheming  Lutheran  Captain  Young,  I  saw  how  he 
caught  our  general  by  the  head,  after  the  illustrious  Don  Alonzo 
had  given  him  a  grievous  wound,  threw  him  to  the  earth,  and  so 
took  him.     Was  not  art-magic  here  ?  " 

"Well,  L  say,"  said  the  captain,  "if  you  are  looking  for  art- 
magic,  what  say  you  to  their  marching  through  the  flank  fire  of 
Our  galleys,  with  eleven  .pieces  of  ordnance,  and  two  hundred  shoi 


WESTWARD  HO!  393 

playing-  on  them,  as  it  it  had  been  a  mosquito  swarm  ?  Some  said 
my  men  tired  too  high  :  but  that  was  the  English  rascals'  doing, 
for  they  got  down  on  the  tide  beach.  But,  Senor  Commandant, 
though  Satan  may  have  taught  them  thar  trick,  was  it  he  that 
taught  them  to  carry  pikes  a  toot  longer  than  yours  ?  " 

"  Ah,  well,"  said  the  bishop,  "  sacked  are  we  ;  and  Saint  Do- 
mingo, as  I  hear,  in  worse  case  than  we  are  ;  and  Saint  Augustine 
in  Florida  likewise  ;  and  all  that  is  lett  tor  a  poor  priest  like  me  is 
to  return  to  Spain,  and  see  whether  the  pious  clemency  of  his 
Majesty,  and  of  the  universal  Father,  may  not  be  willing  to  grant 
some  small  relief  or  bounty  to  the  poor  of  Mary — perhaps — (for 
who  knows  ?)  to  a  translate  to  sphere  of  more  peaceful  labor  one 
who  is  now  old,  Senors,  and  weary  with  many  toils — Tita  !  till  our 
glasses.  I  have  saved  somewhat — as  you  may  have  done,  Senors, 
from  the  general  wreck  ;  and  for  the  flock,  when  I  am  no  more, 
illustrious  Senors,  Heaven's  mercies  are  infinite  ;  new  cities  will 
rise  from  the  ashes  of  the  old,  new  mines  pour  forth  their  treasures 
into  the  sanctified  laps  ot  the  faithful,  and  new  Indians  flock  to- 
ward the  life-giving  standard  of  the  Cross,  to  put  on  the  easy  yoke 
and  light  burden  of  the  Church,  and 

"  And  where  shall  I  be  then  .''  Ah,  where  ?  Fain  would  I  rest, 
and  fain  depart.  Tita  !  sling  my  hammock.  Senors,  you  will  ex- 
cuse age  and  infirmities.     Fray  Gerundio,  go  to  bed  !  " 

And  the  Dons  rose  to  depart,  while  the  bishop  w^ent  on  maun, 
dering, — 

"  Farewell  !  Life  is  short.  Ah  !  we  shall  meet  in  heaven  at 
last.     And  there  are  really  no  more  pearls  t  " 

"  Not  a  frail  ;  nor  gold  either,"  said  the  intendant. 

"  Ah,  well  1  Better  a  dinner  of  herbs  where  love  is,  than — 
Tita  !  " 

"  My  breviary — ah  !  Man's  gratitude  is  short-lived,  I  had  hoped 
■ you  have  seen  nothing  of  the  Senora  Bovadilla  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Ah  !  she  promised  : — but  no  matter — a  little  trifle  as  a  keep- 
sake—a gold  cross,  or  an  emerald  ring,  or  what  not — I  forget. 
And  what  have  I  to  do  with  worldly  wealth  ! — Ah  !  Tita  !  bring  me 
the  casket." 

And  when  his  guests  were  gone,  the  old  man  began  mumbling 
prayers  out  of  his  breviary,  and  fingering  over  jewels  and  gold, 
with  the  dull  greedy  eyes  of  covetous  old  age. 

"  Ah  ! — it  may  buy  the  red  hat  yet  I — Omnia  Romae  venalia  ' 
Put  it  by,  Tita,  and  do  not  look  at  it  too  much,  child.  Enter  not 
into  temptation.  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil  ;  and 
Heaven,  in  love  for  the  Indian,  has  made  him  poor  in  this  world, 
that  he  may  be  rich  in  faith.     Ah  ! — Ugh  ! — So  !  " 

And  the  old  miser  clambered  into  his  hammock.  Tita  drew  the 
mosquito  net  over  him,  wrapt  another  round  her  own  head,  and 
slept,  or  seemed  to  sleep  ;  for  she  coiled  herself  up  upon  the  floor 
and  master  and  slave  soon  snored  a  merry  bass  to  the  treble  of  the 
mosquitoes.  .      . 


394 


WESTWARD  HOr 


'  It  was  long  past  midnight,  and  the  moon  was  down.  The  senti- 
nels, who  had  tramped  and  challenged  overhead  till  they  thought 
their  officers  were  sound  asleep,  had  slipped  out  of  the  unwhole- 
some rays  of  the  planet  to  seek  that  health  and  peace  which  they 
considered  their  right,  and  slept  as  soundly  as  the  bishop's  self 

Two  long  lines  glided  out  from  behind  the  isolated  rocks  of  the 
Morro  Grande,  which  bounded  the  bay  some  five  hundred  yards 
astern  of  the  galleon.  They  were  almost  invisible  on  the  glittering 
surface  of  the  water,  being  perfectly  white  ;  and,  had  a  sentinel 
been  looking  out,  he  could  only  have  descried  them  by  the  phos- 
phorescent flashes  along  their  sides. 

Now  the  bishop  had  awoke,  and  turned  himself  over  uneasily  ; 
for  the  wine  was  dying  out  within  him,  and  his  shoulders  had 
slipped  down,  and  his  heels  up,  and  his  head  ached  !  so  he  sat  up- 
right in  his  hammock,  looked  out  upon  the  bay,  and  called  Tita. 

"  Put  another  pillow  under  my  head,  child  !  What  is  that  ?  a 
fish  ?  " 

Tita  looked.  She  did  not  think  it  was  a  fish  :  but  she  did  not 
choose  to  say  so  ;  for  it  might  have  produced  an  argument,  and 
she  had  her  reasons  for  not  keeping  his  holiness  awake. 

The  bishop  looked  again  ;  settled  that  it  must  be  a  white  whale, 
or  shark,  or  other  monster  of  the  deep  ;  crossed  himself  prayed 
for  a  safe  voyage,  and  snored  once  more. 

Presently  the  cabin-door  opened  gently,  and  the  head  of  the 
Sefior  Intendant  appeared. 

Tita  sat  up  ;  and  then  began  crawling  like  a  snake  along  the 
floor,  among  the  chairs  and  tables,  by  the  light  of  the  cabin  lamp, 

"  Is  he  asleep  ?  " 

*'  Yes  :  but  the  casket  is  under  his  head." 

"  Curse  him  !     How  shall  we  take  it  ?  " 

"  I  brought  him  a  fresh  pillow  half-an-hour  ago  ;  I  hung  his 
hammock  wrong  on  purpose  that  he  might  want  one.  I  thought 
to  slip  the  box  away  as  I  did  it  ;  but  the  old  ox  nursed  it  in  both 
hands  all  the  while." 

"  What  shall  we  do  in  the  name  of  all  the  fiends  .'*  She  sails  to- 
morrow morning  and  then  all  is  lost." 

Tita  showed  her  white  teeth,  and  touched  the  dagger  which 
hung  by  the  intendant's  side. 

"  I  dare  not  ! "  said  the  rascal,  with  a  shudder. 

"  I  dare  !  "  said  she.  "  He  whipt  my  mother,  because  she 
would  not  give  me  up  to  him  to  be  taught  in  his  schools,  when 
she  went  to  the  mines.  And  she  went  to  the  mines,  and  died  there 
in  three  months.  I  saw  her  go,  with  a  chain  round  her  neck  ; 
but  she  never  came  back  again.  Yes  ;  I  dare  kill  him  !  I  will 
kill  him  !  I  will  !  " 

The  Seflor  felt  his  mind  much  relieved.  He  had  no  wish,  of 
course,  to  commit  the  murder  himself ;  for  ht  was  a  good  Catholic, 
and  feared  the  devil.  But  Tita  was  an  Indian,  and  her  being  lost 
did  not  matter  so  much.  Indians'  souls  were  cheap,  like  their 
bodies.     So  he  answered,  "  But  we  shall  be  discovered  !  " 


WESTWARD  HO!  395 

•*  I  will  leap  out  of  the  window  with  the  casket,  and  swim 
ashore.  They  will  never  suspect  you,  and  they  will  fancy  I  am 
drowned." 

"  The  sharks  may  seize  you,  Tita.  You  had  better  give  me  the 
casket." 

Tita  smiled.  "  You  would  not  like  to  lose  that,  eh  ?  though 
you  care  little  about  losing  me.  And  yet  you  told  me  that  you 
loved  me  ! " 

"  And  I  do  love  you,  Tita  !  light  of  my  eyes  !  life  of  my  heart  ! 
I  swear,  by  all  the  saints,  I  love  you.  I  will  marry  you,  1  swear  I 
will — I  will  swear  on  the  crucifix,  if  you  like  !  " 

"Swear,  then,  or  I  do  not  give  you  the  casket,"  said  she,  hold- 
ing out  the  little  crucifix  round  her  neck,  and  devouring  him  with 
the  wild  eyes  of  passionate  unreasoning  tropic  love. 

He  swore,  trembling,  and  deadly  pale. 

"Give  me  your  dagger." 

"No,  not  mine.  It  maybe  found.  I  shall  be  suspected.  What 
if  my  sheath  were  seen  to  be  empty  ?  " 

"  Your  knife  will  do.     His  throat  is  soft  enough." 

And  she  glided  stealthy  as  a  cat  toward  the  hammock,  while  her 
cowardly  companion  stood  shivering  at  the  other  end  of  the 
cabin,  and  turned  his  back  to  her,  that  he  might  not  see  the  deed. 

He  stood  waiting,  one  minute — two — five  ?  Was  it  an  hour, 
rather  ?  A  cold  sweat  bathed  his  limbs  ;  the  blood  beat  so 
fiercely  within  his  temples,  that  his  head  rang  again.  Was  that 
a  death-bell  tolling  ?  No  ;  it  was  the  pulses  of  his  brain.  Im- 
possible, surely,  a  death-bell.     Whence  could  it  come  ? 

There  was  a  struggle — ah  !  she  was  about  it  now  ;  a  stifled 
cry — Ah  !  he  had  dreaded  that  most  of  all,  to  hear  the  old  man 
cry.  Would  there  be  much  blood  ?  He  hoped  not.  Another 
struggle,  and  Tita's  voice,  apparently  muffled,  called  for  help. 

"  I  cannot  help  you.  Motherof  Mercies  !  I  dare  not  help  you  !  " 
hissed  he.  "  She-devil  !  you  have  begun  it,  and  you  must  finish 
it  yourself! " 

A  heavy  arm  from  behind  clasped  his  throat.  The  bishop  had 
broken  loose  from  her  and  seized  him  !  Or  was  it  his  ghost  ?  or 
a  fiend  come  to  drag  him  down  to  the  pit  ?  And  forgetting  all 
but  mere  wild  terror,  he  opened  his  lips  for  a  scream,  which  would 
have  wakened  every  soul  on  board.  But  a  handkerchief  was 
thrust  into  his  mouth  ;  and  in  another  minute  he  found  himself 
bound  hand  and  foot,  and  laid  upon  the  table  by  a  gigantic  enemy. 
The  cabin  was  full  of  armed  men,  two  of  whom  were  lashing  up 
the  bishop  in  his  hammock  ;  two  more  had  seized  Tita  ;  and  more 
were  clambering  up  into  the  stern-gallery  beyond,  wild  figures, 
with  bright  blades  and  armor  gleaming  in  the  starlight. 

"Now,  Will,"  whispered  the  giant  who  had  seized  him,  "for- 
ward and  clap  the  fore-hatches  on  ;  and  shout  Fire  !  with  all  your 
might.  Girl  !  murderess  !  your  life  is  in  my  hands.  Tell  me 
where  the  commander  sleeps,  and  I  pardon  you." 

Tita  looked  up  at  the  huge  speaker,  and  obeyed  in  silence.  The 


396  WESTIVARD  HO  ! 

intendant  heard  him  enter  the  colonel's  cabin,  and  then  a  short 
scuffle,  and  silence  for  a  moment. 

But  only  for  a  moment  ;  for  already  the  alarm  had  been  given, 
and  mad  confusion  reigned  through  every  deck.  Amyas  (for  it 
was  none  other)  had  already  gained  the  poop  ;  the  sentinels  were 
gagged  and  bound  ;  and  every  half-naked  wretch  who  came 
trembling  up  on  deck  in  his  shirt  by  the  main  hatchway,  calling 
one,  "  Fire  !  "  another,  "  Wreck  !  "  and  another,  "  Treason  ! 
was  hurled  into  the  scuppers,  and  there  secured. 

"  Lower  away  that  boat !  "  shouted  Amyas  in  Spanish  to  his 
first  batch  of  prisoners. 

The  men,  unarmed  and  naked,  could  but  obey. 

"  Now  then,  jump  in.  Here,  hand  them  to  the  gangway  as  they 
come  up." 

It  was  done  ;  and  as  each  appeared  he  was  kicked  to  the  scup^ 
pers,  and  bundled  down  over  the  side. 

"She's  full.  Cast  loose  now  and  off  with  you.  If  you  try  to 
board  again  we'll  sink  you." 

"Fire  !  fire  !  "  shouted  Cary,  forward.  "Up  the  main  hatch- 
way for  your  lives  !  " 

The  ruse  succeeded  utterly  ;  and  before  half-an-hour  was  over, 
all  the  ship's  boats  which  could  be  lowered  were  filled  with  Span- 
iards in  their  shirts,  getting  ashore  as  best  they  could. 

"Here  is  a  new  sort  of  camisado,"  quoth  Cary.  "The  last 
Spanish  one  I  saw  was  at  the  sortie  from  Smerwick  :  but  this  is 
somewhat  more  prosperous  than  that." 

"  Get  the  main  and  foresail  up.  Will  !  "  said  Amyas,  "  cut  the 
cable  ;  and  we  will  plume  the  quarry  as  we  fly." 

"  Spoken  like  a  good  falconer.  Heaven  grant  that  this  big 
woodcock  may  carry  a  good  trail  inside  ! " 

"I'll  warrant  her  for  that,"  said  Jack  Brimblecombe.  "She 
floats  so  low." 

"  Much  of  your  build,  too.  Jack.  By  the  by,  where  is  the  com- 
mander ?  " 

Alas  !  Don  Pedro,  forgotten  in  the  bustle,  had  been  lying  on 
the  deck  in  his  shirt,  helplessly  bound,  exhausting  that  part  of 
his  vocabulary  which  related  to'the  unseen  world.  Which  most 
discourteous  act  seemed  at  first  likely  to  be  somewhat  heavily 
avenged  on  Amyas  ;  for  as  he  spoke,  a  couple  of  caliver-shots, 
fired  from  under  the  poop,  passed  "  ping"  "  ping"  by  his  ears, 
and  Cary  clapped  his  hand  to  his  side. 

"  Hurt,  Will  ?  " 

"A  pinch,  old  lad — Look  out,  or  we  are  'alien  verloren  *  after 
all  as  the  Flemings  say." 

And  as  he  spoke,  a  rush  forward  on  the  poop  drove  two  of  their 
best  men  down  the  ladder  into  the  waist,  where  Amyas  stood. 

"  Killed  ?"  asked  he,  as  he  picked  one  up,  who  had  fallen  head 
over  heels. 

"  Sound  as  a  bell,  sir  :  but  they  Gentiles  has  got  hold  of  the  fire- 
arms, and  set  the  captain  free." 


WESTWARD  HO  t  397 

And  rubbing  the  back  of  his  head  for  a  minute,  he  jumped  up 
the  ladder  again,  shouting — 

"  Have  at  ye,  idolatrous  pagans  !     Have  at  ye,  Satan's  spawn  !  " 

Amyas  jumped  up  after  him,  shouting  to  all  hands  to  follow; 
for  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 

Out  of  the  windows  of  the  poop,  which  looked  on  the  main-deck, 
a  galling  fire  had  been  opened,  and  he  could  not  afford  to  lose 
men  ;  for,  as  far  as  he  knew,  the  Spaniards  left  on  board  might 
still  far  outnumber  the  English ;  so  up  he  sprang  on  the  poop  fol- 
lowed by  a  dozen  men,  and  there  began  a  very  heavy  fight  be- 
tween two  parties  of  valiant  warriors,  who  easily  knew  each  other 
apart  by  the  peculiar  fashion  of  their  armor.  For  the  Spaniards 
fought  in  their  shirts,  and  in  no  other  garments  :  but  the  English 
in  all  other  manner  of  garments,  tag,  rag,  and  bobtail  ;  and  yet 
had  never  a  shirt  between  them. 

The  rest  of  the  English  made  a  rush,  of  course,  to  get  upon  the 
poop,  seeing  that  the  Spaniards  could  not  shoot  them  through  the 
deck  ;  but  the  fire  from  the  windows  was  so  hot,  that  although  they 
dodged  behind  masts,  spars,  and  every  possible  shelter,  one  or 
two  dropped  ;  and  Jack  Brimblecombe  and  Yeo  took  on  them- 
selves to  call  a  retreat,  and  with  about  a  dozen  men,  got  back,  and 
held  a  council  of  war. 

What  was  to  be  done  ?  Their  arquebuses  were  of  little  use  ; 
for  the  Spaniards  were  behind  a  strong  bulkhead.  There  were 
cannon  :  but  where  was  powder  or  shot  }  The  boats,  encouraged 
by  the  clamor  on  deck,  were  paddling  alongside  again.  Yeo 
rushed  round  and  round,  probing  every  gun  with  his  sword. 

"  Here's  a  patararo  loaded  !     Now  for  a  match,  lads." 

Luckily  one  of  the  English  had  kept  his  match  alight  during 
the  scuffle. 

"  Thanks  be  !  Help  me  to  unship  the  gun — the  mast's  in  the 
way  here. 

The  patararo,  or  brass  swivel,  was  unshipped. 

"Steady,  lads,  and  keep  it  level,  or  you'll  shake  out  the  priming. 
Ship  it  here  ;  turn  out  that  one,  and  heave  it  into  that  boat,  if  they 
come  alongside.  Steady  now — so  !  Rummage  about,  and  find 
me  a  bolt  or  two,  a  marlin-spike,  anything.  Quick,  or  the  Captain' 
will  be  over-mastered  yet." 

Missiles  were  found — odds  and  ends — and  crammed  into  the 
swivel  up  to  the  muzzle  :  and,  in  another  minute,  its  "cargo  of 
notions  "  was  crashing  into  the  poop-windows,  silencing  the  fire 
from  thence  effectually  enough  for  the  time. 

"  Now,  then,  a  rush  forward,  and  right  in  along  the  deck  !  " 
shouted  Yeo  ;  and  the  whole  party  charged  through  the  cabin- 
doors,  which  their  shot  had  burst  open,  and  hewed  their  way  from 
room  to  room. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Spaniards  above  had  fought  fiercely  :  but, 
in  spite  of  superior  numbers,  they  had  gradually  given  back  be- 
fore the  "  demoniacal  possession  of  those  blasphemous  heretics, 
who  fought,  not  like  men,  but  like  furies  from  the  pit."     And  bf 


398  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

the  time  that  Brimblecombe  and  Yeo  shouted  from  the  stern-gal- 
lery below  that  the  quarter-deck  was  won,  few  on  either  side  but 
had  their  shrewd  scratch  to  show. 

"Yield,  Sefior  !"  shouted  Amyas  to  the  commander,  who  had 
been  fighting  like  a  lion,  back  to  back  with  the  captain  of  mar- 
iners. 

"  Never !  You  have  bound  me,  and  insulted  me  !  Your  blood 
or  mine  must  wipe  out  the  stain  !  " 

And  he  rushed  on  Amyas.  There  was  a  few  moments'  heavy 
fence  between  them  ;  and  then  Amyas  cut  right  at  his  head.  But 
as  he  raised  his  arm,  the  Spaniard's  blade  slipped  along  his  ribs, 
and  snapped  against  the  point  of  his  shoulder-blade.  An  inch 
more  to  the  left,  and  it  would  have  been  through  his  heart.  The 
blow  fell,  nevertheless,  and  the  commandant  fell  with  it,  stunned 
by  the  flat  of  the  sword,  but  not  wounded  ;  for  Amyas's  hand  had 
turned,  as  he  winced  from  his  wound.  But  the  sea-captain,  seeing 
Amyas  stagger,  sprang  at  him,  and,  seizing  him  by  the  wrist,  ere 
he  could  raise  his  sword  again,  shortened  his  weapon  to  run  him 
through.  Amyas  made  a  grasp  at  his  wrist  in  return,  but,  between 
his  faintness  and  the  darkness,  missed  it. — Another  moment,  and 
all  would  have  been  over  ! 

A  bright  blade  flashed  close  past  Amyas's  ear  ;  the  sea-captain's 
grasp  loosened,  and  he  dropped  a  corpse  ;  while  over  him,  like 
an  angry  lioness  above  her  prey,  stood  Ayacanora,  her  long  hair 
floating  in  the  wind,  her  dagger  raised  aloft,  as  she  looked  round, 
challenging  all  and  every  one  to  approach. 

"  Are  you  hurt  ?  "  panted  she. 

*•  A  scratch,  child. — What  do  you  do  here  ?  Go  back,  go 
back." 

Ayacanora  slipped  back  like  a  scolded  child,  and  vanished  in 
the  darkness. 

The  battle  was  over.  The  Spaniards,  seeing  their  commanders 
fall,  laid  down  their  arms,  and  cried  for  quarter.  It  was  given  ; 
the  poor  fellows  were  tied  together,  two  and  two,  and  seated  in  a 
row  on  the  deck  ;  the  commandant,  sorely  bruised,  yielded  him- 
self perforce  ;  and  the  galleon  was  taken. 

Amyas  hurried  forward  to  get  the  sails  set.  As  he  went  down 
the  poop-ladder,  there  was  some  one  sitting  on  the  lowest  step. 

"  Who  is  here — wounded  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  wounded,"  said  a  woman's  voice,  low,  and  stifled 
with  sobs. 

It  was  Ayacanora.  She  rose,  and  let  him  pass.  He  saw  that 
her  face  was  bright  with  tears  ;  but  he  hurried  on,  nevertheless. 

"  Perhaps  I  did  speak  a  little  hastily  to  her,  considering  she 
saved  my  life  ;  but  what  a  brimstone  it  is  !  Mary  Ambree  in  a 
a  dark  skin  !  Now  then,  lads  !  Get  the  Santa  Fe  gold  up  out  of 
the  canoes,  and  then  we  will  put  her  head  to  the  north-east,  and 
away  for  Old  England.  Mr.  Brimblecombe  !  don't  say  that  East- 
ward-ho  don't  brmg  luck  this  time." 

It  was  impossible,  till  morning  dawned,  either  to   get  matter? 


WESTWARD  HO  t  399 

into  any  order,  or  to  overhaul  the  prize  they  had  taken  ;  and  many 
of  the  men  were  so  much  exhausted  that  they  fell  fast  asleep  on 
the  deck  ere  the  surgeon  had  time  to  dress  their  wounds.  How- 
ever, Amyas  contrived,  when  once  the  ship  was  leaping  merrilv, 
close-hauled  against  a  fresh  land-breeze,  to  count  his  little  flock, 
and  found  out  of  the  forty-four  but  six  seriously  wounded,  and 
none  killed.  However,  their  working  numbers  were  now  reduced 
to  thirty-eight,  beside  the  four  negroes,  a  scanty  crew  enough  to 
take  home  such  a  ship  to  England. 

After  awhile,  up  came  Jack  Brimblecombe  on  deck,  a  bottle  in 
his  hand. 

"  Lads,  a  prize  !  " 

"  Well,  we  know  that  already." 

"  Nay,  but — look  hither,  and  laid  in  ice,  too,  as  I  live,  the  luxu- 
rious dogs  !  But  I  had  to  fight  for  it,  I  had.  For  when  I  went 
down  into  the  state  cabin,  after  I  had  seen  to  the  wounded,  whom 
should  I  find  loose  but  that  Indian  lass,  who  had  just  unbound 
the  fellow  you  caught " 

"  Ah  !  those  two,  I  believe,  were  going  to  murder  the  old  man 
in  the  hammock,  if  we  had  not  come  in  the  nick  of  time.  What 
have  you  done  with  them  "i  " 

"Why,  the  Spaniard  ran  when  he  saw  me,  and  got  into  a  cabin  ; 
but  the  woman,  instead  of  running,  came  at  me  with  a  knife,  and 
chased  me  round  the  table  like  a  very  cat-a-mountain.  So  I  ducked 
under  the  old  man's  hammock,  and  out  into  the  gallery  ;  and  when 
I  thought  the  coast  was  clear,  back  again  I  came,  and  stumbled 
over  this.  So  I  just  picked  it  up,  and  ran  on  deck  with  my  tail  be- 
tween my  legs,  for  I  expected  verily  to  have  the  black  woman's 
knife  between  my  ribs  out  of  some  dark  corner." 

'«  Well  done.  Jack  !  Let's  have  the  wine,  nevertheless,  and  then 
down  to  set  a  guard  on  the  cabin-doors  for  fear  of  plundering." 

"  Better  go  down,  and  see  that  nothing  is  thrown  overboard  by 
Spaniards.     As  for  plundering,  I  will  settle  that." 

And  Amyas  walked  forward  among  the  men. 

•'  Muster  the  men,  boatswain,  and  count  them." 

"  All  here,  sir,  but  the  six  poor  fellows  who  are  laid  forward." 

"  Now,  my  men,"  said  Amyas,  "  for  three  years  you  and  I  have 
wandered  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  seeking  our  fortune,  and  we 
have  found  it  at  last,  thanks  be  to  God  !  Now,  what  was  our 
promise  and  vow  which  we  made  to  God  beneath  the  tree  of 
Guayra,  if  He  should  grant  us  good  fortune,  and  bring  us  home 
again  with  a  prize  ?  Was  it  not,  that  the  dead  should  share  with 
the  living  ;  and  that  every  man's  portion,  if  he  fell,  should  ^o  to 
his  widow  or  his  orphans,  or  if  he  had  none,  to  his  parents  ? 

"It  was,  sir,"  said  Yeo,  "  and  I  trust  that  the  Lord  will  give 
these  men  grace  to  keep  their  vow.  They  have  seen  enough  of 
His  providences  by  this  time  to  fear  Him. 

"  I  doubt  them  not  ;  but  I  remind  them  of  it.  The  Lord  has 
put  into  our  hands  a  rich  prize  ;  and  what  with  the  gold  which 
we  have  already,  we  are  well  paid  for  all  our  labors.      Let  U8 


400  WESTIVARD  HO  ! 

thank  Him  with  fervent  hearts  as  soon  as  the  sun  rises  ;  and  in 
the  meanwhile,  remember  all,  that  whosoever  plunders  on  his 
private  account,  robs  not  the  adventurers  merely,  but  the  orphan 
and  the  widow,  which  is  to  rob  God  ;  and  makes  himself  partakei 
of  Achan's  curse  who  hid  the  wedge  of  gold,  and  brought  down 
God's  anger  on  the  whole  army  of  Israel.  For  me,  lest  you  should 
think  me  covetous,  I  could  claim  my  brother's  share  ;  but  I  here- 
by give  it  up  freely  into  the  common  stock,  for  the  use  of  the 
whole  ship's  crew,  who  have  stood  by  me  through  weal  and  woe, 
as  men  never  stood  before,  as  I  believe,  by  any  captain.  So,  now 
to  prayers,  lads,  and  then  to  eat  our  breakfast." 

So,  to  the  Spaniards'  surprise  (who  most  of  them  believed  that  the 
English  were  atheists),  to  prayers  they  went. 

After  which  Brimblecombe  contrived  to  inspire  the  black  cook 
and  the  Portuguese  steward  with  such  energy  that,  by  seven 
o'clock,  the  latter  worthy  appeared  on  deck,  and,  with  profound 
reverences,  announced  to  "  The  most  excellent  and  heroical  Senor 
Adelantado  Captain  Englishman,"  that  breakfast  was  ready  in  the 
state-cabin. 

"  You  will  do  us  the  honor  of  accompanying  us  as  our  guest, 
sir,  or  our  host,  if  you  prefer  the  title,"  said  Amyas  to  the  com- 
mandant, who  stood  by. 

"  Pardon,  Sefior  :  but  honor  forbids  me  to  eat  with  one  who  has 
offered  to  me  the  indelible  insult  of  bonds." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Amyas,  taking  off  his  hat,  "  then  pray  accept  on  the 
spot  my  humble  apologies  for  all  which  has  passed,  and  my  a.ssur- 
rances  that  the  indignities  which  you  have  unfortunately  endured, 
were  owing  altogether  to  the  necessities  of  war,  and  not  to  any 
wish  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  so  valiant  a  soldier  and  gentlemen." 

"  It  is  enough,  Sefior,"  said  the  commandant,  bowing  and  shrug- 
ging his  shoulders— for,  indeed,  he  too  was  very  hungry  ;  while 
Gary  whispered  to  Amyas — 

"  You  will  make  a  courtier,  yet,  old  lad." 

"  I  am  not  in  jesting  humor.  Will  :  my  mind  sadly  misgives  me 
that  we  shall  hear  black  news,  and  have,  perhaps,  to  do  a  black 
deed  yet,  on  board  here.     Sefior,  I  follow  you." 

So  they  went  down  and  found  the  bishop,  who  was  by  this  time 
unbound,  seated  in  a  corner  of  the  cabin,  his  hands  fallen  on  his 
knees,  his  eyes  staring  on  vacancy,  while  the  two  priests  stood  as 
close  against  the  wall  as  they  could  squeeze  themselves,  keeping 
up  a  ceaseless  mutter  of  prayers. 

"  Your  holiness  will  breakfast  with  us,  of  course  ;  and  these  two 
frocked  gentlemen  likewise.  I  see  no  reason  for  refusing  them 
all  hospitality,  as  yet." 

There  was  a  marked  emphasis  on  the  last  two  words,  which 
made  both  monks  wince. 

"  Our  chaplain  will  attend  to  you,  gentlemen.  His  lordship  the 
bishop  will  do  me  the  honor  of  sitting  next  to  me." 

The  bishop  seemed  to  revive  slowly  as  he  snuffed  the  savory 
steam  ;  and   at  last,  rising  mechanically,  subsided  int«  the  chair 


WESTWARD  HO!  401 

which  Amyas  offered  him  on  his  left,  while  the  commandant  sat 
on  his  right. 

"  A  little  of  this  kid,  my  Lord  ?  No — ah — Friday,  I  recollect. 
Some  of  that  turtle-fin,  then.  Will,  serve  his  lordship  ;  pass  the 
cassava-bread  up,  Jack  !  Senor  Commandant  !  a  glass  of  wine  ? 
You  need  it  after  your  valiant  toils.  To  the  health  of  all  brave 
soldiers — and  a  toast  from  your  own  Spanish  proverb,  '  To-day  to 
me,  to-morrow  to  thee  !  " 

"  I  drink  it,  brave  Sefior.  Your  courtesy  shows  you  the  worthy 
countryman  of  General  Drake,  and  his  brave  lieutenant." 

"  Drake  !  Did  you  know  him,  Sefior  ?  "  asked  all  the  English- 
men at  once. 

"  To  well,  too  well "  and  he  would  have  continued  ;  but  the 

bishop  burst  out — 

"  Ah,  Sefior  Commandant  !  that  name  again  !     Have  you  no 

mercy  ?     To  sit  between  another  pair  of ,  and  my  own  wine, 

too  !     Ugh,  ugh  !  " 

The  old  gentleman,  whose  mouth  had  been  full  of  turtle  the 
whole  time,  burst  into  a  violent  fit  of  coughing,  and  was  only 
saved  from  apoplexy  by  Cary's  patting  him  on  the  back. 

"  Ugh,  ugh  !  The  tender  mercies  of  the  wicked  are  cruel,  and 
their  precious  balms.  Ah,  Sefior  Lieutenant  Englishman  !  May 
I  ask  you  to  pass  those  limes  .? — Ah  !  what  is  turtle  without  lime  ? 
— Even  as  a  fat  old  man  without  money  !  Nudus  intravi,  nudus 
exeo — ah  !  " 

"  But  what  of  Drake  ?  " 

"  Do  you  not  know,  sir,  that  he  and  his  fleet  only  last  year, 
swept  the  whole  of  this  coast,  and  took,  with  shame  I  confess  it, 

Carthagena,  San  Domingo,  St.  Augustine,  and 1  see  you  are 

too  courteous,  Senors,  to  express  before  me  what  you  have  a  right 
to  feel.  But  whence  come  vou,  sir  ?  From  the  skies,  or  the  depth 
of  the  sea  ?  " 

"  Art-magic,  art-magic  !  "  moaned  the  bishop. 

"  Your  holiness  !  It  is  scarcely  prudent  to  speak  thus  here," 
said  the  commandant,  who  was  nevertheless  much  of  the  same 
opinion. 

"  Why  you  said  so  yourself,  last  night,  Senor,  about  the  taking 
of  Carthagena." 

The  commandant  blushed,  and  stammered  out  somewhat — ■ 
•'  That  it  was  excusable  in  him,  if  he  had  said  in  jest,  that  so  pro- 
digious and  curious  a  valor  had  not  sprung  from  mortal  source." 

"  No  more  it  did,  Sefior,"  said  Jack  Brimblecombe  stoutly  : 
"  but  from  Him  who  taught  our  '  hands  to  war,  and  our  fingers  to 
fight.'" 

The  commandant  bowed  stiffly.  "  You  will  excuse  me.  Sir 
Preacher  ;  but  I  am  a  Catholic,  and  hold  the  cause  of  my  king  to 
be  alone  the  cause  of  Heaven.  But,  Sefior  Captain,  how  came 
you  thither,  if  I  may  ask  .''  That  you  needed  no  art-magic  after 
you  came  on  board,  I,  alas  !  can  testify  but  too  well  :  but  what 
spirit — whether  good  or  ev/1,  i   ask  not — brought  you  on  board, 


102  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

and  whence  ?     Where  is  your  ship  ?     I  thought  that  all  Drake's 
squadron  had  left  six  months  ago." 

"  Our  ship,  Sefior,  has  lain  this  three  years  rotting  on  the  coast 
near  Cape  Codera." 

"  Ah  !  we  heard  of  that  bold  adventure — but  we  thought  you  all 
lost  in  the  interior." 

"  You  did  .?  Can  you  tell  me,  then,  where  the  Senor  Governor  of 
La  Guayra  may  be  now  ?  " 

"  The  Senor  Don  Guzman  de  Soto,"  said  the  commandant,  in  a 
somewhat  constrained  tone,  "  is  said  to  be  at  present  in  Spain, 
having  thrown  up  his  office  in  consequence  of  domestic  matters, 
of  which  I  have  not  the  honor  of  knovv^ing  anything." 

Amyas  longed  to  ask  more  :  but  he  knew  that  the  well-bred 
Spaniard  would  tell  him  nothing  which  concerned  another  man's 
wife  ;  and  went  on. 

"  What  befell  us  after,  I  tell  you  frankly." 

And  Amyas  told  his  story,  from  the  landing  at  Guayra  to  the 
passage  down  the  Magdalena.  The  commandant  lifted  up  his 
hands. 

"  Were  it  not  forbidden  to  me  as  a  Catholic,  most  invincible  Sefior, 
I  should  say  that  the  Divine  protection  has  indeed " 

"  Ah,"  said  one  of  the  friars,  "  that  you  could  be  brought,  Senors, 
to  render  thanks  for  your  miraculous  preservation  to  her  to  whom 
alone  it  is  due,  Mary,  the  fount  of  mercies  !  " 

"  We  have  done  well  enough  without  her  as  yet,"  said  Amyas, 
bluntly. 

■  "The  Lord  raised  up  Nebuchadnezzar  of  old  to  punish  the  sins 
of  the  Jewish  Church  ;  and  He  has  raised  up  these  men  to  punish 
ours  !  "  said  Fray  Gerundio. 

"  But  Nebuchadnezzar  fell,  and  so  may  they,"  growled  the  other 
to  himself.     Jack  overheard  him. 

"  I  say,  my  Lord  Bishop,"  called  he  from  the  other  end  of  the 
table.  "  It  is  our  English  custom  to  let  our  guests  be  as  rude 
as  they  like  ;  but,  perhaps  your  Lordship  will  hint  to  these  two 
friars,  that  if  they  wish  to  keep  whole  skins,  they  will  keep  civil 
tongues." 

"  Be  silent,  asses  !  mules  !  "  shouted  the  bishop,  whose  spirits 
were  improving  over  the  wine  ;  "who  are  you,  that  you  zannot 
eat  dirt  as  well  as  your  betters  ?  " 

"  Well  spoken,  my  Lord.  Here's  the  health  of  our  saintly  and 
venerable  guest,"  said  Cary  :  while  the  commandant  whispered  to 
Amyas,  "  Fat  old  tyrant !  I  hope  you  have  found  his  money — for 
I  am  sure  he  has  some  on  board,  and  I  should  be  loath  that  you 
lost  the  advantage  of  it." 

"I  shall  have  to  say  a  few  words  to  you  about  that  money  this 
morning.  Commandant  :  by  the  by,  they  had  better  be  said  now. 
My  Lord  Bishop,  do  you  know  that  had  we  not  taken  this  ship 
when  we  did,  you  had  lost  not  merely  money,  as  you  have  now^ 
but  life  itself  ?  " 


IVESTIVARD  HO!  403 

"Money  ?  I  had  none  to  lose  !  Life  ? — what  do  you  mean  ?  " 
asked  the  bishop,  turning  very  pale. 

■  "  This,  sir.  That  it  ill  befits  one  to  lie,  v/hose  throat  has  been 
saved  from  the  assassin's  knife  but  four  hours  since.  When  we 
entered  the  stern-gallery,  we  found  two  persons,  now  on  board 
this  ship,  in  the  very  act,  sir,  and  article,  of  cutting  your  sinful 
throat,  that  they  might  rob  you  of  the  casket  which  lay  beneath 
your  pillow.  A  moment  more,  and  you  were  dead.  We  seized  and 
bound  them,  and  so  saved  your  life.     Is  that  plain,  sir  1  " 

The  bishop  looked  steadfastly  and  stupidly  into  Amyas's  face, 
heaved  a  deep  sigh,  and  gradually  sank  back  in  his  chair,  dropping 
the  glass  from  his  hand. 

"  He  is  in  a  fit  !  Call  in  the  surgeon  !  Run  !  "  and  up  jumped 
kind-hearted  Jack,  and  brought  in  the  surgeon  of  the  galleon. 

"Is  this  possible,  Senor  ?  "  asked  the  commandant. 

"  It  is  true.     Door,  there  !     Evans  !  go  and  bring  in  that  rascal 
whom  we  left  bound  in  his  cabin  !  " 
'     Evans  wen-t,  and  the  commandant  continued — 

"  But  the  stern-gallery  ?  Hou^  in  the  name  of  all  witches  and 
miracles,  came  your  valor  thither  ?" 

"Simply  enough,  and  owing  neither  to  witch  nor  miracle.  The 
night  before  last  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  bay  in  our  two  canoes, 
which  we  had  lashed  together  after  the  fashion  I  had  seen  in  the 
Moluccas,  to  keep  them  afloat  in  the  surf.  We  had  scraped  the 
canoes  bright  the  day  before,  and  rubbed  them  with  white  clay, 
that  they  might  be  invisible  at  night  ;  and  so  we  got  safely  to  the 
Morro  Grande,  passing  within  half  a  mile  of  your  ship." 

"  Oh  !  my  scoundrels  of  sentinels  !  " 

"  We  landed  at  the  back  of  the  Morro,  and  lay  there  all  day,  be- 
ing purposed  to  do  that  which,  with  your  pardon,  we  have  done. 
We  took  our  sails  of  Indian  cloth,  whitened  them  likewise  with 
clay  which  we  had  brought  with  us  from  the  river  (expecting  to 
find  a  Spanish  ship  as  we  went  along  the  coast,  and  determined  to 
attempt  her,  or  die  with  honor),  and  laid  them  over  us  on  the 
canoes,  paddling  from  underneatli  tiiem.  So  that,  had  your  sen- 
tinels been  aw^ake,  they  would  have  hardly  made  us  out  till  we  were 
close  on  board.  We  had  provided  ourselves,  instead  of  ladders, 
with  bamboos  rigged  with  cross  pieces,  and  a  hook  of  strong  wood 
at  the  top  of  each  ;  they  hang  at  your  stern-gallery  now.  And  the 
rest  of  the  tale  I  need  not  tell  you." 

The  commandant  rose  in  his  courtly  Spanish  way, — 

"  Your  admirable  story,  Senor,  proves  to  me  how  truly  your  na- 
tion, while  it  has  yet,  and  I  trust  will  ever  have,  to  dispute  the 
palm  of  valor  with  our  own,  is  famed  throughout  the  world  for 
ingenuity,  and  for  daring  beyond  that  of  mortal  man.  You  have 
succeeded,  valiant  Captain,  because  you  have  deserved  to  succeed  ; 
and  it  is  no  shame  to  me  to  succumb  to  enemies,  who  have  united 
the  cunning  of  the  serpent  v/ith  the  valor  of  the  lion.  Senor,  I 
feel  as  proud  of  becoming  your  guest  as  I  should  have  been  proud 
under  a  happier  star,  of  becoming  yiuir  host." 


404  WESTWARD  HO! 

•'  You  are,  like  your  nation,  only  too  generous,  Sefior.  But 
what  noise  is  that  outside  ?     Cary,  go  and  see." 

But  ere  Cary  could  reach  the  door,  it  was  opened  ;  and  Evans 
presented  himself  with  a  terrified  face. 

"  Here's  villany,  sir  !  The  Don's  murdered,  and  cold  ;  the 
Indian  lass  fled  ;  and  as  we  searched  the  ship  for  her,  we  found 
an  Englishwoman,  as  I'm  a  sinful  man  ! — and  a  shocking  sight  she 
is  to  see  !  " 

"  An  Englishwoman  ?  "  cried  all  three,  springing  forward. 

"  Bring  her  in  !  "  said  Amyas,  turning  very  pale  ;  and  as  he 
spoke,  Yeo  and  another  led  into  the  cabin  a  figure  scarcely  human. 

An  elderly  woman,  dressed  in  the  yellow  "  San  Benito  "  of  the 
Inquisition,  with  ragged  gray  locks  hanging  about  a  countenance 
distorted  by  suffering,  and  shrunk  by  famine.  Painfully,  as  one 
unaccustomed  to  the  light,  she  peered  and  blinked  round  her. 
Her  fallen  lip  gave  her  a  half-idiotic  expression  ;  and  yet  there, 
was  an  uneasy  twinkle  in  the  eye,  as  of  boundless  terror  and  sus- 
picion. She  lifted  up  her  fettered  wrist  to  shade  her  face  ;  and  as 
she  did  so,  disclosed  a  line  of  fearful  scars  upon  her  skinny  arm. 

"  Look  there,  sirs  !  "  said  Yeo,  pointing  to  them  with  a  stern 
smile.  "  Here's  some  of  these  Popish  gentr>''s  handiwork.  I  know 
well  enough  how  those  marks  came  ;  "  and  he  pointed  to  the 
similar  scars  on  his  own  wrist. 

The  commandant,  as  well  as  the  Englishmen,  recoiled  with 
horror. 

"  Holy  Virgin  !  what  wretch  is  this  on  board  my  ship  ?  Bishop, 
is  this  the  prisoner  w^hom  you  sent  on  board  ?  " 

The  bishop,  who  had  been  slowly  recovering  his  senses,  looked 
at  her  a  moment  ;  and  then  thrusting  his  chair  back,  crossed  him- 
self, and  almost  screamed,  "  Malefica  !  Malefica  !  Who  brought 
her  here  ?  Turn  her  away,  gentlemen  ;  turn  her  eye  away  ;  she 
will  bewitch,  fascinate  " — and  he  began  muttering  prayers. 

Amyas  seized  him  by  the  shoulder,  and  shook  him  on  to  his 
legs. 

"  Swine  !  who  is  this  ?  Wake  up,  coward,  and  tell  me,  or  I 
will  cut  you  piecemeal  !  " 

But  ere  the  bishop  could  answer,  the  woman  uttered  a  wild 
shriek,  and  pointing  to  the  taller  of  the  two  monks,  cowered  be- 
hind Yeo. 

"  He  here  ?  "  cried  she  in  broken  Spanish.  "  Take  me  away  ! 
I  will  tell  you  no  more.  I  have  told  you  all,  and  lies  enough  be- 
side. Oh  !  why  is  he  come  again  ?  Did  they  not  say  that  I  should 
have  no  more  torments  ?  " 

The  monk  turned  pale:  but  like  a  wild  beast  at  bay,  glared 
firmly  round  on  the  whole  company  ;  and  then,  fixing  his  dark 
eyes  full  on  the  woman,  he  bade  her  be  silent  so  sternly,  that  she 
shrank  down  like  a  beaten  hound. 

"  Silence,  dog  !  "  said  Will  Cary,  whose  blood  was  up,  and  fol- 
lowed his  words  with  a  blow  on  the  monk's  mouth,  which  silenced 
him  effectually. 


WESTIVARD  HOi  405 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  good  woman,  but  speak  English.  We  are 
all  English  here,  and  Protestants  too.  Tell  us  what  they  have  done 
for  you." 

"  Another  trap  !  another  trap  !"  cried  she,  in  a  strong  Devon- 
shire accent.  "You  be  no  English  !  You  want  to  make  me  lie 
again,  and  then  torment  me.  Oh  !  wretched,  wretched  that  I 
am!"  cried  she,  bursting  into  tears.  "Whom  should  I  trust? 
Not  myself:  no,  nor  God;  for  I  have  denied  Him  !  O  Lord  !  O 
Lord  !  " 

Amyas  stood  silent  with  fear  and  horror  ;  some  instinct  told  him 
that  he  was  on  the  point  of  hearing  news  for  which  he  feared  to 
ask.     But  Jack  spoke — 

"  My  dear  soul  !  my  dear  soul  !  don't  you  be  afraid  ;  and  the 
Lord  will  stand  by  you,  if  you  will  but  tell  the  truth.  We  are 
all  Englishmen,  and  men  of  Devon,  as  you  seem  to  be  by  your 
speech  ;  and  this  ship  is  ours  ;  and  the  pope  himself  shan't  touch 
you." 

"  Devon  ?  "  she  said,  doubtingly  ;   "  Devon  !     Whence,  then  ?  '* 

"  Bideford  men.  This  is  Mr.  W*ill  Gary,  to  Clovelly.  If 
you  are  a  Devon  woman,  you've  heard  tell  of  the  Carys,  to  be 
sure." 

The  woman  made  a  rush  forward,  and  threw  her  fettered  arms 
round  Will's  neck, — 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Gary,  my  dear  life  !  Mr.  Gary  !  and  so  you  be  !  Oh, 
dear  soul  alive  !  but  you're  burnt  so  brown,  and  I  be  'most  blind 
with  misery.  Oh,  who  ever  sent  you  here,  my  dear  Mr.  Will, 
then,  to  save  a  poor  wretch  from  the  pit  ? " 

"  Who  on  earth  are  you  ?  " 

"  Lucy  Passmore,  the  white  witch  to  Welcombe.  Don't  you 
mind  Lucy  Passmore,  as  charmed  your  warts  for  you  when  you 
was  a  boy  ?  " 

"  Lucy  Passmore  !  "  almost  shrieked  all  three  friends.  "She 
that  went  off  with " 

"  Yes  !  she  that  sold  her  own  soul,  and  persuaded  that  dear 
saint  to  sell  hers  ;  she  that  did  the  devil's  work,  and  has  taken  the 
devil's  wages  ; — after  this  fashion  !  "  and  she  held  up  her  scarred 
wrists  wildly. 

"  Where  is  Dofia  de— Rose  Salterne  !  "  shouted  Will  and  Jack 

"  Where  is  my  brother  Frank  ?  "shouted  Amyas. 

"  Dead,  dead,  dead  !  " 

"  I  knew  it,"  said  Amyas,  sitting  down  again  calmly. 

"  How  did  she  die  ?  " 

"  The  Inquisition — he  !  "  pointing  to  the  monk.  "  Ask  him — 
he  betrayed  her  to  her  death.  And  ask  him  !  "  pointing  to  the 
bishop  ;  "  he  sat  by  her  and  saw  her  die." 

"  Woman,  you  rave  !  "  said  the  bishop,  getting  up  with  a  ter- 
rified air,  and  moving  as  far  as  possible  from  Amyas. 

"  How  did  my  brother  die,  Lucy  !  "  asked  Amyas,  still  calmly. 

"  Who  be  you,  sir  ?  " 


4o6  WESTWARD  HO  / 

A  gleam  of  hope  flashed  across  Amyas — she  had  not  answered 
his  q*2estion. 

"  I  am  Amyas  Leigh  of  Burrough.  Do  you  know  aught  of  my 
brother  Frank,  who  was  lost  at  La  Guayra  ? 

"  Mr.  Amyas  !  Heaven  forgive  me  that  I  did  not  know  the 
bigness  of  you.  Your  brother,  sir,  died  like  a  gentleman  as  he 
was." 

"  But  how  ?  "  gasped  Amyas. 

"  Burned  with  her,  sir  I  " 

"  Is  this  true,  sir  1:  "  said  Amyas,  turning  to  the  bishop,  with  a 
very  quiet  voice. 

"  I,  sir  ?  "  stammered  he,  in  panting  haste.  •'  I  had  nothing  to 
do — I  was  compelled  in  my  office  of  bishop  to  be  an  unwilling 
specta.tor — the  secular  arm,  sir  ;  I  could  not  interfere  with  that — 
any  more  than  I  can  with  the  Holy  Office.  I  do  not  belong  to  it — 
ask  that  gentleman — sir  !  Saints  and  angels,  sir  !  what  are  you 
going  to  do  .'' "  shrieked  he,  as  Amyas  laid  a  heavy  hand  upon  his 
shoulder,  and  began  to  lead  him  towards  the  door. 

"  Hang  you  1  "  said  Amyas.  "  If  I  had  been  a  Spaniard  and  a 
priest  like  yourself,  I  should  have  burnt  you  alive." 

"Hang  me.^"  shrieked  the  wretched  old  Balaam;  and  burst 
into  abject  howls  for  mercy. 

"Take  the  dark  monk,  Yeo,  and  hang  him  too.  Lucy  Pass- 
more,  do  you  know  that  fellow  also  ?  " 

"  No,  sir,"  said  Lucy. 

"Lucky  for  you.  Fray  Gerundio,"  said  Will  Gary;  while  the 
good  friar  hid  his  face  in.  his  hands,  and  burst  into  tears.  Lucky 
it  was  for  him,  indeed  ;  for  he  had  been  a  pitying  spectator  of  the 
tragedy.  "  Ah  l"  thought  he,  "if  life  in  this  mad  and  sinful  world 
be  a  reward,- perhaps  this  escape  is  vouchsafed  to  me  for  having 
pleaded  the'cause  of  the  poor  Indian  !" 

But  the  bishop  shrieked  on. 

"  Oh  !  not  yet.     An  hour,  only  an  hour  !     I  am  not  fit  to  die." 

"That  is  no  concern  of  mine,"  said  Amyas.  "  I  only  know  that 
you  are  not  fit  to  live." 

"  Let  us  at  least  make  our  peace  with  God,"  said  the  dark 
monk. 

"Hound  !  if  your  saints  can  really  smuggle  you  up  the  back- 
stairs to  heaven,  they  will  do  it  without  five  minutes'  more  coaxing 
and  flattering," 

Fray  Gerundio  and  the  condemned  man  alike  stopped  their  ears 
at  the  blasphemy. 

. .  '.'  Oh,  P>ay  Gerundio  !  "  screamed  the  bishop,  "  pray  for  me.     I 
have  treated  you  like  a  beast.     Oh,  Fray,  Fray  !  " 

"  Oil,  my  Lord  !  my  Lord  !"  said  the  good 'man,  as  with  tears 
streaming  down  his  face  he  followed  his  shrieking  and  struggling 
diocesan  up  the  stairs,  "  who  am  I  ?  Ask  no  pardon  of  me."  Ask 
pardon  of  God  for  all  your  sins  against  the  poor  innocent  savages, 
when  you  saw  yotir  harmless  sheep  butchered  year  after-  year,- and 
yet  never  lifted  up  your  voice  to  save  the  flock  whicli  God  had 


WESTWARD  HO  f  407 

committed  to  you.     Oh,  confess  that,  my  Lord  !  confess  it  ere  it 
be  too  late  !  " 

"  I  will  confess  all  about  the  Indians,  and  the  gold,  and  Tita 
too,  Fray  ;  peccavi,  peccavi— only  five  minutes,  Senors,  five  little 
minutes'  grace,  while  I  confess  to  the  good  Fray  !  " — and  he 
grovelled  on  the  deck. 

"  I  will  have  no  such  mummery  where  I  command,"  said  Amyas 
sternly.     "  I  will  be  no  accomplice  in  cheating  Satan  of  his  due." 

"  If  you  will  confess,"  said  Brimblecombe,  whose  heart  was 
melting  fast,  "  confess  to  the  Lord,  and  He  will  forgive  you. 
Even  at  the  last  moment  mercy  is  open.  Is  it  not,  f^ray  Ger- 
undio  ?  " 

"It  is,  Sefior  ;  it  is,  my  Lord,"  said  Gerundio  ;  but  the  bishop 
only  clasped  his  hands  over  his  head. 

"  Then  I  am  undone  !  All  my  money  is  stolen  1  Not  a  farthing 
left  to  buy  masses  for  my  poor  soul  !  And  no  absolution,  no  via- 
ticum, nor  anything  !     I'die  like  a  dog  and  am  damned  !  " 

"Clear  away  that  running  rigging!"  said  Amyas,  while  the 
dark  Dominican  stood  perfectly  collected,  with  something  of  a 
smile  of  pity  at  the  miserable  bishop.  A  man  accustomed  to 
cruelty,  and  firm  in  his  fanaticism,  he  was  as  ready  to  endure  suf- 
fering as  to  inflict  it  ;  repeating  to  himself  the  necessary  prayers, 
he  called  Fray  Gerundio  to  witness  that  he  died,  however  unwor- 
thy, a  martyr,  in  charity  with  all  men,  and  in  the  communion  of 
the  Holy  Catholic  Church  ;  and  then,  as  he  fitted  the  cord  to  his 
own  neck,  gave  Fray  Gerundio  various  petty  commissions  about 
his  sister  and  her  children,  and  a  little  vineyard  far  away  upon  the 
sunny  slopes  of  Castile  ;  and  so  died,  with  a  "  Domine,  in  manus 
tuas,"  like  a  valiant  man  of  Spain. 

■  Amyas  stood  long  in  solemn  silence,  watching  the  two  corpses 
dangling  above  his  head.  At  last  he  drew  a  long  breath,  as  if  a 
load  was  taken  off  his  heart. 

Suddenly  he  looked  round  to  his  men,  who  were  watching  eager- 
ly to  know  what  he  would  have  done  next. 

"  Hearken  to  me,  my  masters  all,  and  may  God  hearken  too, 
and  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if,  as  long  as  I  have  eyes  to  see 
a  Spaniard,  and  hands  to  hew  him  down,  I  do  any  other  thing 
than  hunt  down  that  accursed  nation  day  and  night,  and  avenge 
all  the  innocent  blood  which  has  been  shed  by  them  since  the  day 
in  which  King  Ferdinand  drove  out  the  Moors  !  " 

"  Amen  !  "  said  Salvation  Yeo.  "  I  need  not  to  swear  that  oath, 
for  I  have  sworn  it  long  ago,  and  kept  it.  Will  your  honor  have 
us  kill  the  rest  of  the  idolaters  .?  " 

"  God  forbid  !  "  said  Cary.     "  You  would  not  do  that,  Amyas  ?  " 

"  No  ;  we  will  spare  them.  God  has  shown  us  a  great  mercy 
this  day,  and  we  must  be  merciful  in  it.  We  will  land  them  at 
Cabo  Velo.     But  henceforth  till  I  die  no  quarter  to  a  Spaniard." 

"  Amen  !  "  said  Yeo. 

Amyas's  whole  countenance  had  changed  in  the  last  half-hour. 
He  seemed  to  have  grown  years  older.     His  brow_was  wrinkled, 


4o8  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

his  lip  compressed,  his  eyes  full  of  a  terrible  stony  calm,  as  of  one 
who  had  formed  a  great  and  dreadful  purpose  ;  and  yet  for  that 
very  reason  could  afford  to  be  quiet  under  the  burden  of  it,  even 
cheerful  ;  and  when  he  returned  to  the  cabin  he  bowed  courteously 
to  the  commandant,  begged  pardon  of  him  for  having  played  the 
host  so  ill,  and  entreated  him  to  finish  his  breakfast. 

"  But,  Senor — is  it  possible  ?     Is  his  holiness  dead  ?  " 

"  He  is  hanged  and  dead,  Senor.  I  would  have  hanged,  could 
I  have  caught  them,  every  living  thing  which  was  present  at  my 
brother's  death,  even  to  the  very  flies  upon  the  wall.  No  more 
words,  Senor  ;  your  conscience  tells  you  that  I  am  just." 

"  Sefior,"  said  the  commandant — "  One  word — I  trust  there 
are  no  listeners — none  of  my  crew,  I  mean  ;  but  I  must  exculpate 
myself  in  your  eyes." 

"  Walk  out,  then,  into  the  gallery  with  me." 

"  To  tell  you  the  truth,  Senor — I  trust  in  Heaven  no  one  over- 
hears.— You  are  just.  This  Inquisition  is  the  curse  of  us,  the 
weight  which  is  crushing  out  the  ver>'  life  of  Spain.  No  man 
dares  speak.  No  man  dares  trust  his  neighbor,  no  not  his  child, 
or  the  wife  of  his  bosom.  It  avails  nothing  to  be  a  good  Catholic, 
as  I  trust  I  am,"  and  he  crossed  himself,  "  when  any  villain  whom 
you  may  offend,  any  unnatural  son  or  wife  who  wishes  to  be  rid 
of  you,  has  but  to  hint  heresy  against  you,  and  you  vanish  into  the 
Holy  Office — and  then  God  have  mercy  on  you,  for  man  has  none. 
Noble  ladies  of  my  family,  sir,  have  vanished  thither,  carried  off 
by  night,  we  know  not  why  ;  we  dare  not  ask  why.  To  expostu- 
late, even  to  inquire,  would  have  been  to  share  their  fate.  There 
is  one  now,  Senor — Heaven  alone  knows  whether  she  is  alive  or 
dead  ! — It  was  nine  years  since,  and  we  have  never  heard  ;  and 
we  shall  never  hear." 

And  the  commandant's  face  worked  frightfully. 

"  She  was  my  sister,  Senor  !  " 

"  Heavens  !  sir,  and  have  you  not  avenged  her  t  " 

"  On  churchmen,  Senor,  and  I  a  Catholic  ?  To  be  burned  at 
the  the  stake  in  this  life,  and  after  that  to  all  eternity  beside  ? 
Even  a  Spaniard  dare  not  face  that.  Beside,  sir,  the  mob  like 
this  Inquisition,  and  an  Auto-da-Fe  is  even  better  sport  to  them 
than  a  bull-fight.  They  would  be  the  first  to  tear  a  man  in  pieces 
who  dare  touch  an  Inquisitor.  Sir,  may  all  the  saints  in  heaven 
obtain  me  forgiveness  for  my  blasphemy,  but  when  I  saw  you  just 
now  fearing  those  churchmen  no  more  than  you  feared  me,  I 
longed,  sinner  that  I  am,  to  be  a  heretic  like  you." 

"  It  will  not  take  long  to  make  a  brave  and  wise  gentleman  who 
has  suffered  such  things  as  you  have,  a  heretic,  as  you  call  it— 
a  free  Christian  man,  as  we  call  it." 

"  Tempt  me  not,  sir  !  "  said  the  poor  man,  crossing  himself  fer- 
vently. "Let  us  say  no  more.  Obedience  is  my  duty  ;  and  for 
the  rest  the  Church  must  decide,  according  to  her  infallible  au- 
thority—for I  am  a  good  Catholic,  Sefior,  the  best  of  Catholics, 
though  a  great  sinner.— I  trust  no  one  has  overheard  us  !  " 


WESTIVAKD  HO  /  469 

Amyas  left  him  with  a  smile  of  pity,  and  went  to  look  for  Lucy 
Passmore,  whom  the  sailors  were  nursing  and  feeding,  while 
Ayacanora  watched  them  with  a  puzzled  face, 

"  I  will  talk  to  you  when  you  are  better,  Lucy,"  said  he,  taking 
her  hand.  "  Now  you  must  eat  and  drink,  and  forget  all  among 
us  lads  of  Devon." 

"  Dh,  dear  blessed  sir,  and  you  will  send  Sir  John  to  pray  with 
me  ?  For  I  turned,  sir,  I  turned  :  but  I  could  not  help  it — I  could 
not  abear  the  torments  :  but  she  bore  them,  sweet  angel — and  more 
than  I  did.     Oh,  dear  me  !  " 

"  Lucy  I  am  not  fit  now  to  hear  more.  You  shall  tell  me  all  to- 
morrow ;  "  and  he  turned  away. 

"  Why  do  you  take  her  hand  ?  "  said  Ayacanora,  half-scornfully. 
•'  She  is  old,  and  ugly,  and  dirty." 

"She  is  an  Englishwoman,  child,  and  a  martyr,  poor  thing; 
and  I  would  nurse  her  as  I  would  my  own  mother." 

"  Why  don't  you  make  me  an  Englishwoman,  and  a  martyr  ? 
I  could  learn  how  to  do  anything  that  that  old  hag  could  do  !  " 

"  Instead  of  calling  her  names,  go  and  tend  her  ;  that  would  be 
much  fitter  work  for  a  woman  than  fighting  among  men." 

Ayacanora  darted  from  him,  thrust  the  sailors  aside,  and  took 
possession  of  Lucy  Passmore. 

"  Where  shall  I  put  her  ?  "  asked  she  of  Amyas,  without  looking 
up. 

"  In  the  best  cabin  ;  and  let  her  be  served  like  a  queen,  lads." 

"  No  one  shall  touch  her  but  me  ;  "  and  taking  up  the  withered 
frame  in  her  arms,  as  if  it  were  a  doll,  Ayacanora  walked  off  with 
her  in  triumph,  telling  the  men  to  go  and  mind  the  ship. 

"  The  girl  is  mad,"  said  one. 

♦*  Mad  or  not,  she  has  an  eye  to  our  captain,"  said  another. 

"  And  Where's  the  man  that  would  behave  to  the  poor  wild  thing 
as  he  does  ?  " 

"  Sir  Francis  Drake  would,  from  whom  he  got  his  lesson.  Do 
you  mind  his  putting  the  negro  lass  ashore  after  he  found  out 
about " 

"  Hush.  Bygones  be  bygones,  and  those  that  did  it  are  in  their 
graves  long  ago.     But  it  was  too  hard  of  him  on  the  poor  thing." 

"  If  he  had  not  got  rid  of  her,  there  would  have  been  more 
throats  than  one  cut  about  the  lass,  that's  all  I  know,"  said  another  ; 
"  and  so  there  would  have  been  about  this  one  before  now,  if  the 
captain  wasn't  a  born  angel  out  of  heaven,  and  the  lieutenant  no 
less." 

"  Well,  I  suppose  we  may  get  a  whet  by  now.  I  wonder  if  these 
Dons  have  any  beer  aboard." 

"  Nought  but  grape  vinegar,  which  fools  call  wine,  I'll  warrant." 

"  There  was  better  than  vinegar  on  the  table  in  there  just  now." 

"Ah,"  said  one  grumbler  of  true  English  breed,  "  but  that's  not 
for  poor  fellows  like  we." 

"  Don't  lie,  Tom  Evans  ;  you  never  were  given  that  way  yet, 
and  I  don't  think  the  trade  will  suit  a  good  fellow  like  you." 

The  whole  party  stared  ;  for  the  speaker  of  these  words  was 


4  TO  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

none  other  than  Amyas  himself,  who  had  rejoined  them,  a  bottle 
in  each  hand. 

"  No,  Tom  Evans.  It  has  been  share  and  share  alike  for  three 
years,  and  bravely  you  have  all  held  up,  and  share  alike  it  shall  be 
now,  and  here's  the  handsel  of  it.  We'll  serve  out  the  good  wine  fairly 
all  round  as  long  as  it  lasts,  and  then  take  to  the  bad  :  but  mind 
you  don't  get  drunk,  my  sons,  for  we  are  much  too  short  of  hands 
to  have  any  stout  fellows  lying  about  the  scuppers." 

But  what  was  the  story  of  the  intendant's  being  murdered  ? 
Brimblecom.be  had  seen  him  run  into  a  neighboring  cabin  ;  and 
when  the  door  of  it  was  opened,  there  was  the  culprit,  but  dead 
and  cold,  with  a  deep  knife-wound  in  his  side.  Who  could  have 
done  the  deed  ?  It  must  have  been  Tita,  whom  Brimblecombe 
had  seen  loose,  and  trying  to  free  her  lover. 

The  ship  was  searched  from  stem  to  stern  :  but  no  Tita.  The 
mystery  was  never  explained.  That  she  had  leapt  overboard,  and 
tried  to  swim  ashore  none  doubted  :  but  whether  she  had  reached 
it,  who  could  tell  ?  One  thing  v.^as  strange  ;  that  not  only  had  she 
carried  off  no  treasure  with  her,  but  that  the  gold  ornaments  which 
she  had  worn  the  night  before,  lay  together  in  aheap  on  the  table, 
close  by  the  murdered  man.  Had  she  wished  to  rid  herself  of 
everything  which  had  belonged  to  her  tyrants  ? 

The  commandant  heard  the  whole  story  thoughtfully. 

"  Wretched  man  !  "  said  he,  "  and  he  has  a  wife  and  children 
in  Seville." 

"  A  wife  and  children  ?  "  said  Amyas  ;  "  and  I  heard  him  prom- 
ise marriage  to  the  Indian  girl." 

That  was  the  only  hint  which  gave  a  reason  for  his  death.  What 
if,  in  the  terror  of  discovery  and  capture,  the  scoundrel  had  dropped 
any  self-condemning  words  about  his  marriage,  any  prayer  for 
those  whom  he  had  left  behind,  and  the  Indian  had  overheard 
them  ?  It  might  be  so  ;  at  least  sin  had  brought  its  own  punish- 
ment. 

And  so  that  wild  night  and  day  subsided.  The  prisoners  were 
kindly  used  enough  ;  for  the  Englishmen,  free  from  any  petty  love 
of  tormenting,  knows  no  mean  between  killing  a  foe  outright,  and 
treating  him  as  a  brother  ;  and  when,  two  days  afterwards,  they 
were  sent  ashore  in  the  canoes  off  Cabo  Velo,  captives  and  cap- 
tors shook  hands  all  round  ;  and  Amyas,  after  returning  the  com- 
mandant his  sword,  and  presenting  him  with  a  case  of  the  bishop's 
wine,  bowed  him  courteously  over  the  side. 

"  I  trust  that  you  will  pay  us  another  visit,  valiant  Seiior  Capi- 
tan,"  said  the  Spaniard,  bowing  and  smiling. 

"  I  should  most  gladly  accept  your  invitation,  illustrious  Senor 
Commandant  ;  but  as  I  have  vowed  henceforth,  whenever  I  shall 
meet  a  Spaniard,  neither  to  give  nor  take  quarter,  I  trust  that  our 
paths  to  glory  may  lie  in  difterent  directions." 

The  commandant  shrugged  his  shoulders  ;  the  ship  was  put 
again  before  the  wind,  and  as  the  shores  of  the  Main  faded  lower 
and  dimmer  behind  her,  a  mighty  cheer  broke  from  all  on  board  ; 
and  for  once  the  cr^^  from  overy  mouth  v/as  Eastward^ho  1. 


WESTWARD  HO!  411 

Scrap  by  scrap,  as  weakness  and  confusion  of  intellect  permitted 
her,  Lucy'Passmore  told  her  story.  It  was  a  simple  one  aiter  all, 
and  Amyas  might  almost  have  guessed  it  for  himself.  Rose  had 
not  yielded  to  the  Spaniard  without  a  struggle.  He  had  visited 
her  two  or  three  times  at  Lucy's  house  (how  he  found  out  Lucy's 
existence  she  herself  could  never  tell,  unless  from  the  Jesuits)  be- 
iore  she  agreed  to  go  with  him.  He  had  gained  Lucy  to  his  side 
by  huge  promises  of  Indian  gold  ;  and,  in  hne,  they  had  gone  to 
Lundy,  where  the  lovers  were  married  by  a  priest,  who  was  none 
other,  Lucy  would  swear,  than  the  shorter  and  stouter  of  the  two 
who  had  carried  off  her  husband  and  his  boat— in  a  word.  Father 
Parsons. 

Amyas  gnashed  his  teeth  at  the  thought  that  he  had  had  Par- 
sons in  his  power  at  Brenttor  down,  and  let  him  go.  It  was  a 
fresh  proof  to  him  that  Heaven's  vengeance  was  upon  him  for 
letting  one  of  its  enemies  escape.  Though  what  good  to  Rose  or 
Frank  the  hanging  of  Parsons  would  have  been,  I,  for  my  part, 
cannot  see. 

But  when  had  Eustace  been  at  Lundy  ?  Lucy  could  throw  no 
light  on  that  matter.  It  was  evidently  some  by-thread  in  the  hug*^ 
spider's  web  of  Jesuit  intrigue,  which  was,  perhaps,  not  worth 
knowing  after  all. 

They  sailed  from  Lundy  in  a  Portugal  ship,  were  at  Lisbon  a 
few  days  (during  which  Rose  and  Lucy  remained  on  board),  and 
then  away  for  the  West  Indies  ;  while  all  went  merry  as  a'  mar- 
riage bell.  "Sir,  he  would  have  kissed  the  dust  off  her  dear  feet, 
till  that  evil  eye  of  Mr.  Eustace's  came,  no  one  knew  how  or 
whence."  And  from  that  time,  all.  went  v/rong.  Eustace  got 
power  over  Don  Guzman,  whether  by  threatening  that  the  mar- 
riage should  be  dissolved,  whether  by  working  on  his  superstitious 
scruples  about  leaving  his  wife  still  a  heretic,  or  whether  (and- this 
last  Lucy  much  suspected)  by  insinuations  that  her  heart  was  still 
at  home  in  England,  and  that  she  vv^as  longing  for  Amyas  and  his 
ship  to  come  and  take  her  home  again  ;  the  house  soon  became  a 
den  of  misery,  and  P:ustace  the  presiding  evil  genius.  Don  Guz- 
man had  even  commanded  him  to  leave  it— and  he  went  ;  but, 
somehov/,  within  a  week  he  was  there  again,  in  greater  favor  than 
ever.  Then  came  preparations  to  meet  the  English,  and  high 
words  about  it  between  Don  Guzman  and  Rose  ;  till  a  few  days 
before  Amyas's  arrival,  the  Don  had  dashed  out  of  the  house  in  a 
fury,  saying  openly  that  she  preferred  these  Lutheran  dogs  to  him, 
and  that  he  v^-ould  have  their  hearts'  blood  first,  and  hers  after. 

The  rest  was  soon  told.  Amyas  knew  but  too  much  of  it 
already.  The  very  morning  after  he  had  gone  up  to  the  villa, 
Lucy  and  her  mistress  were  taken  (they  knew  not  by  whom)  down 
to  the  quay,  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Office,  and  shipped  off  to 
Carthagena. 

There  they  were  examined,  and  confronted  on  a  charge  of  witch- 
craft, which  the  wretched  Lucy  could  not  well  deny.  She  was 
tortured  to  make  her  inculpate  Rose  ;  and  what  she  said,  or  did 
not  say,  under  the  torture,  the  poor  wretch  could  never  tell.     She 


412  WESTIVARD  HO! 

recanted,  and  became  a  Romanist ;  Rose  remained  firm.  Three 
weeks  afterwards,  they  were  brought  out  to  an  Auto-da-F^  ;  and 
there,  for  the  first  time,  Lucy  saw  Frank  walking,  dressed  in  a 
San  Benito,  in  that  ghastly  procession.  Lucy  was  adjudged  to 
receive  publicly  two  hundred  stripes,  and  to  be  sent  to  "  The  Holy 
House  "  at  Seville  to  perpetual  prison.  Frank  and  Rose,  with  a 
renegade  Jew,  and  a  negro  who  had  been  convicted  of  practising 
"  Obi,"  were  sentenced  to  death  as  impenitent,  and  delivered  over 
to  the  secular  arm,  with  prayers  that  there  might  be  no  shedding 
of  blood.  In  compliance  with  which  request,  the  Jew  and  the 
negro  were  burnt  at  one  stake,  Frank  and  Rose  at  another.  She 
thought  they  did  not  feel  it  more  than  twenty  minutes.  They 
were  both  very  bold  and  steadfast,  and  held  each  other's  hand 
(that  she  would  swear  to)  to  the  very  last. 

And  so  ended  Lucy  Passmore's  story.  And  if  Amyas  Leigh, 
after  he  had  heard  it,  vowed  afresh  to  give  no  quarter  to  Span- 
iards wherever  he  should  find  them,  who  can  wonder,  even  if  they 
blame  ? 


CHAPTER  XXVn. 

HOW  SALVATION  YEO  FOUND  HIS  LITTLE  MAID  AGAIN. 

"  All  precious  things,  discover'd  late, 
To  them  who  seek  them  ssne  forth  ; 
For  love  in  sequel  works  with  fate, 
And  draws  the  veil  from  hidden  worth." 

The  Sleeping  Beauty. 

And  so  Ayacanora  took  up  her  abode  in  Lucy's  cabin,  as  a 
regularly  accredited  member  of  the  crew. 

But  a  most  troublesome  member  ;  for  now  began  in  her  that 
perilous  crisis  which  seems  to  endanger  the  bodies  and  souls  of  all 
savages  and  savage  tribes,  when  they  first  mingle  with  the  white 
man  ;  that  crisis  which,  a  few  years  afterwards,  began  to  hasten 
the  extermination  of  the  North  American  tribes  ;  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  admirable  good  sense  and  constancy  of  Amyas,  Aya- 
canora might  have  ended  even  more  miserably  than  did  the  far- 
famed  Pocahontas,  daughter  of  the  Virginian  king;  who,  after 
having  been  received  at  Court  by  the  old  pedant  James  the  First, 
with  the  honors  of  a  sister  sovereign,  and  having  become  the  re- 

Euted  ancestress  of  more  than  one  ancient  Virginian  family,  ended 
er  days  in  wretchedness  in  some  Wapping  garret. 
For  the  mind  of  the  savage,  crushed  by  the  sight  of  the  white, 
man's  superior  skill,  and  wealth,  and  wisdom,  loses  at  first  its  self- 
respect  ;  while  his  body,  pampered  with  easily-obtained  luxuries, 
instead  of  having  to  win  the  necessaries  of  life  by  heavy  toil,  loses 
its  self-helpfulness  ;  and  with  self-respect  and  self-help  vanish  all 
the  savage  virtues,  few  and  flimsy  as  they  are  and  the  downward 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


413 


road  toward  begging  and  stealing,  sottishness  and  idleness,  is 
easy,  if  not  sure. 

And  down  that  road,  it  really  seemed  at  tirst,  that  poor  Ayaca- 
nora  was  walking  fast.  For  the  warrior-prophetess  of  the  Oma- 
guas  soon  became,  to  all  appearance,  nothing  but  a  very  naughty 
child  ;  and  the  Diana  of  the  Meta,  after  she  had  satisfied  her  sim- 
ple wonder  at  the  great  floating  house  by  rambling  from  deck  to 
deck,  and  peeping  into  every  cupboard  and  cranny,  manifested  a 
great  propensity  to  steal  and  hide  (she  was  too  proud  or  too  shy 
to  ask  for)  every  trumpery  which  smit  her  fancy  ;  and  when  Amyas 
forbade  her  to  take  anything  without  leave,  threatened  to  drown 
herself,  and  went  off  and  sulked  all  day  in  her  cabin.  Neverthe- 
less, she  obeyed  him,  except  in  the  matter  of  sweet  things.  Per- 
haps she  craved  naturally  for  the  vegetable  food  of  her  native  for- 
ests ;  at  all  events  the  bishop's  stores  of  fruit  and  sweetmeats 
diminished  rapidly  ;  and  what  was  worse,  so  did  the  sweet  Span- 
ish wine  which  Amyas  had  set  apart  for  poor  Lucy's  daily  cordial. 
Whereon  another  severe  lecture,  in  which  Amyas  told  her  how 
mean  it  was  to  rob  poor  sick  Lucy  ;  whereat  she,  as  usual,  threat- 
ened to  drown  herself;  and  was  running  upon  deck  to  do  it, 
when  Amyas  caught  her  and  forgave  her.  On  which  a  violent  fit 
of  crying,  and  great  penitence  and  promises;  and  a  week  after, 
Amyas  found  that  she  had  cheated  Satan  and  her  own  conscience 
by  tormenting  the  Portuguese  steward  into  giving  her  some  other 
wine  instead  :  but  luckily  for  her,  she  found  Amyas 's  warnings 
about  wine  making  her  mad  so  far  fulfilled,  that  she  did  several 
foolish  things  one  evening,  and  had  a  bad  headache  next  morn- 
ing ;  so  the  murder  was  out,  and  Amyas  ordered  the  steward  up 
for  a  sound  flogging  ;  but  Ayacanora,  honorably  enough,  not  only 
begged  him  off,  but  offered  to  be  whipped  instead  of  him,  confess- 
ing that  the  poor  fellow  spoke  truly  when  he  swore  that  she  had 
threatened  to  kill  him,  and  that  he  had  given  her  the  wine  in  bodily 
fear  for  his  life. 

However,  her  own  headache  and  Amyas's  cold  looks  were  lesson 
enough,  and  after  another  attempt  to  drown  herself,  the  wilful 
beauty  settled  down  for  a  while  ;  and  what  was  better,  could 
hardly  be  persuaded,  thenceforth  to  her  dying  day,  to  touch  fer- 
mented liquors. 

But,  in  the  meanwhile,  poor  Amyas  had  many  a  brainsbeating 
as  to  how  he  was  to  tame  a  lady  who,  on  the  least  provocation, 
took  refuge  in  suicide.  Punish  her  he  dared  not,  even  if  he  had 
the  heart.  And  as  for  putting  her  ashore,  he  had  an  instinct,  and 
surely  not  a  superstitious  one,  that  her  strange  affection  for  the 
English  was  not  unsent  by  heaven,  and  that  God  had  committed 
her  into  his  charge,  and  that  He  would  require  an  account  at  his 
hands  of  the  soul  of  that  fair  lost  lamb. 

So,  almost  at  his  wits'  end,  he  prayed  to  God,  good  simple  fel- 
low, and  that  many  a  time,  to  show  him  what  he  should  do  with 
her  before  she  killed  either  herself,  or  what  was  just  as  likely,  one 
of  the  crew  ;  and  it  seemed  best  to  him  to  n\ake  Parson  Jack  teach 


414  WES7WARD  HO! 

her  the  rudiments  of  Christianity,  that  she  might  be  baptized  in 
due  time  when  they  got  home  to  England, 

But  here  arose  a  fresh  trouble — for  she  roundly  refused  to  learn 
of  Jack,  or  of  any  one  but  Amyas  himself;  while  he  had  many  a 
good  reason  for  refusing  the  office  of  schoolmaster  ;  so,  for  a 
week  or  two  more,  Ayacanora  remained  untaught,  save  in  the 
English  tongue,  which  she  picked  up  with  marvellous  rapidity. 

And  next,  as  if  troubles  would  never  end,  she  took  a  violent  dis-= 
like,  not  only  to  John  Brimblecombe,  whose  gait  and  voice  she 
openly  mimicked  for  the  edification  of  the  men  ;  but  also  to  Will 
Gary,  whom  she  never  allowed  to  sneak  to  her  or  approach  her. 
Perhaps  she  was  jealous  of  his  intimacy  wfth  Amyas  ;  or  perhaps, 
with  the  subtle  instinct  of  a  v/oman,  she  knew  that  he  was  the  only 
other  man  on  board  who  might  dare  to  make  \ovq  to  her  (though 
Will,  to  do  him  justice,  was  as  guiltless  of  any  such  intention  as 
Amyas  himself).  But  when  she  was  remonstrated  with,  her  only 
answer  was  that  Gary  was  a  cacique  as  well  as  Amyas.  and  that 
there  ought  not  to  be  two  caciques  ;  and  one  day  she  actually  pro- 
posed to  Amyas  to  kill  his  supposed  rival,  and  take  the  ship  ail  to 
himself;  and  sulked  for  several  days  at  hearing  Amyas,  amid 
shouts  of  laughter,  retail  her  precious  advice  to  its  intended 
victim. 

Moreover,  the  negroes  came  in  for  their  share,  being  regarded 
all  along  by  her  with  an  unspeakable  repugnance,  which  showed 
itself  at  first  in  hiding  from  them  whenever  she  could,  and,  after- 
wards, in  throwing  at  them  ever\-thing  she  could  lay  hands 
an,  till  the  poor  Ouashies,  in  danger  of  their  lives,  complained  to. 
Amyas,  and  got  rest  for  awhile. 

Oyer  the  rest  of  the  sailors  she  lorded  it  like  a  very  princess, 
calling  them  from  their  work  to  run  on  her  errands  and  make 
toys  for  her,  enforcing  her  commands  now  and  then  by  a  shrew^d 
box  on  the  ears  ;  while  the  good  fellows,  especially  old  Yeo,  like 
true  sailors,  petted  her,  obeyed  her,  even  jested  with  her,  much 
as  they  might  have  done  with  a  tame  leopard,  whose  claws  might 
be  unsheathed  and  about  their  ears  at  any  moment.  But  she 
amused  them,  and  amused  Amyas  too.  They  must  of  course 
have  a  pet  ;  and  what  prettier  one  could  they  have  ?  And  as 
for  Amyas,  the  constant  interest  of  her  presence,  even  the  constant 
anxiety  of  her  wilfulness,  kept  his  mind  busy,  and  drove  out  many 
a  sad  foreboding  about  that  meeting  with  his  mother,  and  the 
tragedy  which  he  had  to  tell  her,  which  would  otherwise,  so 
heavily  did  they  weigh  on  him,  have  crushed  his  spirit  with  m.el- 
ancholy,  and  made  all  his  worldly  success  and  marvellous  deliver- 
ance worthless  in  his  eyes. 

At  last  the  matter,  as  most  things  luckily  do,  came  to  a  climax  ; 
and  it  came  in  this  way. 

The  ship  had  been  slipping  along  now  for  many  a  day,  slowly 
but  steadily  before  a  favorable  breeze.  She  had  passed  the  ring 
of  the  West  India  islands,  and  was  now  crawling,  safe  from  all 
pursuit  through  the  vast  weed-beds  of  the  Sargasso  Sea.     There, 


WESTWARD  HOt  415 

for  the  first  time,  it  was  thought  safe  to  relax  the  discipline  which 
had  been  hitherto  kept  up,  and  to  "  rummage  "  (as  was  the  word 
in  those  days)  their  noble  prize.  What  they  found,  of  gold  and 
silver,  jewels,  and  merchandise,  will  interest  no  readers.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  that  there  was  enough  there,  with  the  other  treasure, 
to  make  Amyas  rich  fo'r  life,  after  all  claims  of  Gary's  and  the  crew, 
not  forgetting  Mr.  Salterne's  third,  as  owner  of  the  ship,  had  been 
paid  off.  But  in  the  captain's  cabin  were  found  two  chests,  one 
full  of  gorgeous  Mexican  feather  dresses,  and  the  other  of  Spanish 
and  East  Indian  finery,  which,  having  come  by  way  of  Ha- 
vanna  and  Carthagena,  was  going  on,  it  seemed,  to  some  Sefiora 
or  other  at  the  Carraccas.  Which  two  chests  were,  at  Car^^'s  pro- 
posal, voted  amid  the  acclamations  of  the  crew  to  Ayacanora,  ai 
her  due  and  fit  share  of  the  pillage,  in  consideration  of  her  Ama- 
zonian prowess  and  valuable  services. 

So  the  poor  child  took  greedy  possession  of  the  trumpery,  hat 
them  carried  into  Lucy's  cabin,  and  there  knelt  gloating  over  them 
many  an  hour.  The  Mexican  work  she  chose  to  despise  as  sav- 
age ;  but  the  Spanish  dresses  were  a  treasure  ;  and  for  two  or 
three  days  she  appeared  on  the  quarter-deck,  sunning  herself  lika 
a  peacock  before  the  eyes  of  Amyas  in  Seville  mantillas,  Madrid 
hats,  Indian  brocade  farthingales,  and  I  know  not  how  many 
other  gewgaws,  and  dare  not  say  how  put  on. 

The  crew  tittered  :  Amyas  felt  much  more  inclined  to  cry. 
There  is  nothing  so  pathetic  as  a  child's  vanity,  saving  a  grown 
person  aping  a  child's  vanity  ;  and  saving,  too,  a  child's  agony  of 
disappointment  when  it  finds  that  it  has  been  laughed  at  instead 
of  being  admired.  Amyas  would  have  spoken,  but  he  was  afraid  : 
however,  the  evil  brought  its  own  cure.  The  pageant  went  on, 
as  its  actor  thought,  most  successfully  for  three  days  or  so  ;  but 
at  last  the  dupe,  unable  to  contain  herself  longer,  appealed  to 
Amyas, — "  Ayacanora  quite  English  girl  now  ;  is  she  not  ?  " — 
heard  a  titter  behind  her,  looked  round,  saw  a  dozen  honest  faces 
in  broad  grin,  comprehended  all  in  a  moment,  darted  down  the 
companion-ladder,  and  vanished. 

Amyas,  fully  expecting  her  to  jump  overboard,  followed  as  fast 
as  he  could.  But  she  had  locked  herself  in  with  Lucy,  and  he 
could  hear  her  violent  sobs,  and  Lucy's  faint  voice  entreating  to 
know  what  was  the  matter. 

In  vain  he  knocked.  She  refused  to  come  out  all  day,  and  at 
even  they  were  forced  to  break  the  door  open,  to  prevent  Lucy 
being  starved. 

There  sat  Ayacanora,  her  finery  half  torn  off,  and  scattered 
about  the  floor  in  spite,  crying  still  as  if  her  heart  would  break  ; 
while  poor  Lucy  cried  too,'  half  from  fright  and  hunger,  and  half 
for  company. 

Amyas  tried  to  comfort  the  poor  child,  assured  her  that  the 
men  should  never  laugh  at  her  again  ;  "  But  then,"  added  he 
"  You  must  not  be  so— so "     What  to  say  he  hardly  knew 

"  So  what  ?  "  asked  she,  crying  more  bitterly  than  ever. 


4 1 6  WESTWARD  HO  I 

"  So  like  a  wild  girl,  Ayacanora." 

Her  hands  dropped  on  her  knees  :  a  strong  spasm  ran  through 
her  throat  and  bosom,  and  she  fell  on  her  knees  before  him,  and 
looked  up  imploringly  in  his  face. 

"  Yes  ;  wild  girl — poor,  bad  wild  girl.  .  .  .  But  I  will  be  Eng- 
lish girl  now  !  " 

"  Fine  clothes  will  never  make  you  English,  my  child,"  said 
Amyas. 

"  No  !  not  English  clothes — English  heart  !  Good  heart,  like 
yours  !     Yes,  I  will  be  good,  and  Sir  John  shall  teach  me  !  " 

"  There's  my  good  maid,"  said  Amyas.  "Sir  John  shall  begin 
and  teach  you  to-morrow," 

"No!  Now!  now!  Ayacanora  cannot  wait.  She  will  drown 
herself  if  she  is  bad  another  day  !     Come,  now  !  " 

And  she  made  him  fetch  him  Brimblecombe,  heard  the  honest 
fellow  patiently  for  an  hour  or  more,  and  told  Lucy  that  very  night 
all  that  he  had  said.  And  from  that  day,  whenever  Jack  went  in  to 
read  and  pray  with  the  poor  sufferer,  Ayacanora,  instead  of  es- 
caping on  deck  as  before,  stood  patiently  tr^'ing  to  make  it  all  out, 
and  knelt  when  he  knelt,  and  tried  to  pray  too — that  she  might 
have  an  English  heart ;  and  doubtless  her  prayers,  dumb  as  they 
were,  were  not  unheard. 

So  went  on  a  few  days  more,  hopefully  enough,  without  any  out- 
break, till  one  morning,  just  after  they  had  passed  the  Sargasso- 
beds.  The  ship  was  taking  care  of  herself  ;  the  men  were  all  on 
deck  under  the  awning,  tinkering,  and  cobbling,  and  chatting  ; 
Brimblecombe  was  catechizing  his  fair  pupil  in  the  cabin  ;  Amyas 
and  Gary,  cigar  in  mouth,  were  chatting  about  all  heaven  and 
earth,  and,  above  all,  of  the  best  way  of  getting  up  a  fresh  adven- 
ture against  the  Spaniards  as  soon  as  they  returned  ;  while  Amyas 
was  pouring  out  to  Will  that  dark  hatred  of  the  whole  nation,  that 
dark  purpose  of  revenge  for  his  brother  and  for  Rose,  which  had 
settled  down  like  a  murky  cloud  into  every  cranny  of  his  heart  and 
mind.  Suddenly  there  was  a  noise  below  ;  a  scuffle  and  a  shout, 
which  made  them  both  leap  to  their  feet ;  and  up  on  deck  rushed 
Jack  Brimblecombe,  holding  his  head  on  with  both  his  hands. 

"  Save  me  !  save  me  from  that  she-fiend  !  She  is  possessed 
with  a  legion  !  She  has  broken  my  nose — torn  out  half  my  hair  ! 
— and  I'm  sure  I  have  none  to  spare  !  Here  she  comes  !  Stand 
by  me,  gentlemen  both  !  Satanas,  I  defy  thee  !  "  And  Jack  en- 
sconced himself  behind  the  pair,  as  Ayacanora  whirled  upon  deck 
like  a  very  Ma?nad,  and,  seeing  Amyas,  stopped  short. 

"If  you  had  defied  Satan  down  below  there,"  said  Gary,  with  a 
laugh,  "  I  suspect  he  wouldn't  have  broken  out  on  you  so  boldly, 
Master  Jack." 

"  I  am  innocent — innocent  as  the  babe  unborn  !  Oh  !  Mr. 
Gary  !  this  is  too  bad  of  you,  sir  !  "  quoth  Jack  indignantly,  while 
Amyas  asked  what  was  the  matter. 

"  He  looked  at  me,"  said  she  sturdily. 

**  Well,  a  cat  may  look  at  a  king." 


IVES TWARD  HO!  41  f 

*'  But  he  shan't  look  at  Ayacanora.  Nobody  shall  but  you,  or 
I'll  kill  him  ! "  ,     ,    ^ 

In  vain  Jack  protested  his  innocence  of  having  even  looked  at 
her.  The  fancy  (and  I  verily  believe  it  was  nothing  more)  had 
taken  possession  of  her.  She  refused  to  return  below  to  her  lesson. 
Jack  went  off  grumbling,  minus  his  hair,  and  wore  a  black  eye  for 
a  week  after. 

"At  all  events,"  quoth  Gary,  re-lighting  his  cigar,  "its  a  fault 
on  the  right  side." 

"  God  give  me  grace,  or  it  may  be  one  on  the  wrong  side  for 

me."  ,     .       ,  .  J 

"  He  will,  old  heart-of-oak  !  "  said  Gary,  laying  his  arm  around 
Amyas's  neck,  to  the  evident  disgust  of  Ayacanora,  who  went  off 
to  the  side,  got  a  fishing-line,  and  began  amusing  herself  there- 
with, while  the  ship  slipped  on  quietly  and  silently  as  ever,  save 
when  Ayacanora  laughed  and  clapped  her  hands  at  the  flying-fish 
scudding  from  the  bonitos.  At  last,  tired  of  doing  nothing,  she 
went  forward  to  the  poop-rail  to  listen  to  John  Squire  the  armorer, 
who  sat  tinkering  a  headpiece,  and  humming  a  song,  mutato 
nomine,  concerning  his  native  place — 

"  Oh,  Bideford  is  a  pleasant  place,  it  sliines  where  it  stands, 
And  the  more  I  look  upon  it,  the  more  my  heart  it  warms  ; 
For  there  are  fair  youn^  lasses,  in  rows  upon  the  quay. 
To  welcome  gallant  mariners,  when  they  come  home  from  say." 

**'Tis  Sunderland,  John  Squire,  to  the  song,  and  not  Bidevor,** 
said  his  mate. 

"  Well,  Bidevor's  so  good  as  Sunderland  any  day,  for  all  there's 
no  say-coals  there  blacking  a  place  about  ;  and  makes  just  so  good 
harmonies.  Tommy  Hamblyn — 

"  Oh,  if  I  was  a  herring,  to  swim  the  ocean  o'er, 
Or  if  I  was  a  say-dove,  to  fly  unto  the  shoor, 
To  fly  unto  my  true  love,  a  waiting  at  the  door, 
To  w'ed  her  with  a  goold  ring,  and  plough  the«ain  no  moor. 

Here  Yeo  broke  in — 

"Arn'tyou  ashamed,  John  Squire,  to  your  years,  singing  such 
carnal  vanities,  after  all  the  providences  you  have  seen  ?  Let  the 
songs  of  Zion  be  in  your  mouth,  man,  if  you  must  needs  keep  a 
caterwauling  all  day  like  that." 

"  You  sing  *em  yourself  then,  gunner." 

"  Well,"  says  Yeo,  "  and  why  not  ? "  And  out  he  pulled  his 
psalm-book,  and  began  a  scrap  of  the  grand  old  psalm — 

"  Such  as  in  ships  and  brittle  barks 

Into  the  seas  descend, 
Their  mercliandise  through  fearful  floods 

To  compass  and  to  end  ; 
There  men  are  forced  to  behold 

The  Lord's  works  what  tliey  be  ; 
And  in  the  dreadful  deep  the  same. 

Most  marvellous  they  see." 


4lg  WESTWARD  H0 1 

"  Humph  !  "  said  John  Squire.  "  Very  good  and  godly  :  but 
still  I  du  like  a  merry  catch  now  and  then,  I  du.  Wouldn't  you 
let  a  body  sing  '  Rumbelow  '—even  when  he's  heaving  of  the 
anchor  ?  " 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,"  said  Yeo  ;  "  but  the  Lord's  people  had 
better  praise  the  Lord  then  too,  and  pray  for  a  good  voyage,  in- 
stead of  howling  about — 

"  A  i-Atidy,  dandy,  dandy  O, 
A  whet  of  ale  and  brandy  O, 
With  a  rumbelow  and  a  Westward-ho  ! 
And  heave,  mymarinois  all,  O  !  " 

•*  Is  that  fit  talk  for  immortal  souls  ?  How  does  that  child's- 
trade  sound  beside  the  Psalms,  John  Squire  ?  " 

Now  it  befell  that  Salvation  Yeo,  for  the  very  purpose  of  hold- 
ing up  to  ridicule  that  time-honored  melody,  had  put  into  it  the 
true  nasal  twang,  and  rung  it  out  as  merrily  as  he  had  done  per- 
haps twelve  years  before,  when  he  got  up  John  Oxenham's  anchor 
in  Plymouth  Sound.  And  it  befell  also  that  Ayacanora,  as  she 
stood  by  Amyas's  side,  watching  the  men,  and  trying  to  make  out 
their  chat,  heard  it,  and  started  ;  and  then,  half  to  herself,  took  up 
the  strain,  and  sang  it  over  again,  word  for  word,  in  the  very  same 
tune  and  tone. 

Salvation  Yeo  started  in  his  turn,  and  turned  deadly  pale. 

"  Who  sung  that  ?  "  he  asked  quickly. 

"  The  little  maid  here.  She's  coming  on  nicely  in  her  Eng- 
lish," said  Amyas. 

"  The  little  maid  }  "  said  Yeo,  turning  paler  still.  "Why  do  you 
go  about  to  scare  an  old  servant,  by  talking  of  little  maids.  Cap- 
tain Amyas  ?  Well,"  he  said  aloud  to  himself,  "as  I  am  a  sinful 
saint,  if  1  hadn't  seen  where  the  voice  came  from,  I  could  have 
sworn  it  was  her  ;  just  as  we  taught  her  to  sing  it  by  the  river 
there,  I  and  William  Penberthy  of  Marazion,  my  good  comrade. 
The  Lord  have  Mercy  on  me  !  " 

All  were  silent  as  the  grave  whenever  Yeo  made  any  allusion  to 
that  lost  child.  Ayacanora  only,  pleased  with  Amyas's  commen- 
■  Ration,  went  humming  on  to  herself — 

"  And  heave,  my  mariners  a]!,  O  !  •' 

Yeo  started  up  from  the.  gun  where  he  sat.  "  I  can't  abear  it ! 
•As  I  live,  I  can't  !.  You,  Indian  maiden,  where  did  you  learn  to 
sing  that  there  ?  "  ' 

Ayacanora  looked  up  at  him,  half  frightened  by  his  vehemence, 
then  at  Amyas,  to  see  if  she  had  been  doing  anything  wrong  ; 
and  then  turned  saucily  away,  looked  over  the  side,  and  hummed 
on. 

"  Ask  her,  for  mercy's  sake — ask  her,  Captain  Leigh  ! 

"  My  child,"  said  Amyas,  speaking  in    Indian,  "  how  is   it  you 


WESTWARD  HO  J  4 1 9 

sing  that  so  much  better  than  any  other  English  ?     Did  you  ever 
hear  it  before  ?  " 

Ayacanora  looked  up  at  him  puzzled,  and  shook  her  head  ;  and 
then — 

"  If  you  tell  Indian  to  Ayacanora,  she  dumb.  She  must  be  Eng- 
lish girl  now,  like  poor  Lucy." 

"Well  then,"  said  Amyas,  "do  you  recollect,  Ayacanora— do 
you  recollect— what  shall  I  say  ?  anything  that  happened  when 
you  were  a  little  girl  ?  " 

She  paused  awhile  ;  and  then  moving  her  hands  overhead — 

"  Trees — great  trees  like  the  Magdalena — always  nothing  but 
trees — wild  and  bad  everything.  Ayacanora  won't  talk  about 
that." 

"  Do  you  mind  anything  that  grew  on  those  trees  ? "  asked  Yeo 
eagerly. 

She  laughed.  "  Silly  !  Flowers  and  fruit,  and  nuts — grow  on 
all  trees,  and  monkey-cups  too.  Ayacanora  climbed  up  after  them 
— when  she  v/as  wild.     I  won't  tell  any  more." 

"  But  who  taught  you  to  call  them  monkey-cups  ?  "  asked  Yeo, 
trembling  with  excitement. 

••  Monkey's  drink  ;  mono  drink." 

"  Mono  !"  said  Yeo,  foiled  on  one  cast,  and  now  trying  another. 
*'  How  did  you  know  the  beasts  were  called  monos  ?  " 

"  She  might  have  heard  it  coming  down  with  us,"  said  Cary, 
who  had  joined  the  group. 

"  Ay,  monos,"  said  she,  in  a  self-justifying  tone.  "Faces  like 
little  men,  and  tails.  And  one  very  dirty  black  one,  with  a  beard 
say  Amen  in  a  tree  to  all  the  other  monkeys,  just  like  Sir  John  on 
Sunday." 

This  allusion  to  Brimblecombe  and  the  preaching  apes  upset  all 
but  old  Yeo. 

"  But  don't  you  recollect  any  Christians  ? — white  people  ?  " 

She  was  silent. 

"  Don't  you  mind  a  white  lady  ?  " 

"  Um  ?  " 

"  A  woman,  a  very  pretty  woman,  with  hair  like  his  ?  "  pointing 
to  Amyas. 

"No." 

"  What  do  you  mind,  then,  beside  those  Indians  ?  "  added  Yeo, 
in  despair. 

She  turned  her  back  on  him  peevishly,  as  if  tired  with  the  efforts 
of  her  memoi*y. 

"  Do  try  to  remember,"  said  Amyas  ;  and  she  set  to  work  agaia 
at  once. 

"  Ayacanora  mind  great  monkeys — black,  oh,  so  high,"  and  she 
held  up  her  hands  above  her  head,  and  made  a  violent  gesture  of 
disgust. 

"  Monkeys  ?  what,  with  tails  ?  " 

"No,  like  man.     Ah!  yes— just  like  Cooky  there — dirty  Cooky  !  ** 

And  that  hapless  son  of  Ham,  who  happened  to  be  just  cross- 


420  IVES  TWA  RD  HOt 

ing  the  main-deck,  heard  a  marlingspike,  which  by  ill  luck  was 
lying  at  hand,  flying  past  his  ears. 

"  Ayacanora,  if  you  heave  any  more  things  at  Cooky,  I  must 
have  you  whipped,"  said  Amyas,  without,  of  course,  any  such 
intention. 

"I'll  kill  you,  then,"  answered  she,  in  the  most  matter  of  fact 
tone. 

"  She  must  mean  Negurs,"  said  Yeo  ;  "  I  wonder  where  she  saw 
them,  now.     What  if  it  were  they  Cimaroons  ?  " 

"  But  why  should  any  one  who  had  seen  whites  forget  them,  and 
yet  remember  Negroes  ?  "  asked  Cary. 

"  Let  us  try  again.  Do  you  mind  no  great  monkeys  but  those 
black  ones  ?  "  asked  Amyas. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  after  awhile, — "  Devil." 

"  Devil  ? "  asked  all  three,  who,  of  course,  were  by  no  means 
free  from  the  belief  that  the  fiend  did  actually  appear  to  the  Indian 
conjurors,  such  as  had  brought  up  the  girl. 

"  Ay,  him  Sir  John  tell  about  on  Sundays." 

"  Save  and  help  us  !  "  said  Yeo  :  "  and  what  was  he  like  unto  ?** 

She  made  various  signs  to  intimate  that  he  had  a  monkey's  face, 
and  a  gray  beard  like  Yeo's.  So  far  so  good  :  but  now  came  a 
series  of  manipulations  about  her  pretty  little  neck,  which  set  all 
their  fancies  at  fault. 

"  I  know,"  said  Cary,  at  last,  bursting  into  a  great  laugh.  "  Sir 
Uriaji  had  a  ruff  on,  as  I  live  !  Trunk-hose  too,  my  fair  dame  ? 
Stop — I'll  make  sure.  Was  his  neck  like  the  Senor  Command- 
ant's, the  Spaniard  ?  " 

Ayacanora  clapped  her  hands  at  finding  herself  understood,  and 
the  questioning  went  on. 

"The  '  Devil'  appeared  like  a  monkey,  with  a  gray  beard,  in  a 
ruff; — humph  ! " 

"  Ay  !  "  said  she  in  good  enough  Spanish,  "  Mono  de  Panama ; 
viejo  diablo  de  Panama." 

Yeo  threw  up  his  hands  with  a  shriek— 

"Oh  Lord  of  all  mercies  !  Those  were  the  last  words  of  Mr. 
John  Oxenham  !  Ay — and  the  Devil  is  surely  none  other  than  the 
devil  Don  Francisco  Xararte  !  Oh  dear  !  oh  dear  !  oh  dear  !  my 
sweet  young  lady  !  my  pretty  little  maid  I  and  don't  you  know  me  ? 
Don't  you  know  Salvation  Yeo,  that  carried  you  oVer  the  moun- 
tains, and  used  to  climb  for  the  monkey-cups  for  you,  my  dear 
young  lady  ?  And  William  Penberthy  too,  that  used  to  get  you 
flowers  ;  and  your  poor  dear  father,  that  was  just  like  Mr.  Cary 
there,  only  he  had  a  black  beard,  and  black  curls,  and  swore  ter- 
ribly in  his  speech,  like  a  Spaniard,  my  dear  young  lady  ?  " 

And  the  honest  fellow,  falling  on  his  knees,  covered  Ayaca- 
nora's  hands  with  kisses  ;  while  all  the  crew,  fancying  him  gone 
suddenly  mad,  crowded  aft. 

"  Steady,  men,  and  don't  vex  him  !  "  said  Amyas.     "  He  thinks 
that  he  has  found  his  little  maid  at  last." 
••  And  so  do  I,  Amyas,  as  I  live,"  said  Cary. 


WESTWARD  not  421 

"  Steady,  steady,  my  masters  all  !  If  this  turn  out  a  wrong-  scent 
after  all,  his  wits  will  crack.  Mr.  Yeo,  can't  you  think  of  any 
other  token  .''  " 

Yeo  stamped  impatiently.  "  What  need  then  ?  It's  her,  I  tell 
ye,  and  that's  enough  !  What  a  beauty  she's  grown  !  Oh  dear  ! 
where  were  my  eyes  all  this  time,  to  behold  her,  and  not  to  see 
her  !  'Tis  her  very  mortal  self,  it  is  !  And  don't  you  mind  me, 
my  dear,  now  .?  Don't  you  mind  Salvation  Yeo,  that  taught  you 
to  sing  '  Heave  my  mariners  all,  O  ! '  a-sitting  on  a  log  by  the 
boat  upon  the  sand,  and  there  was  a  sight  of  red  lilies  grew  on  it 
in  the  moss,  dear,  now,  wasn't  there  .'*  and  we  made  posies  oi 
them  to  put  in  your  hair,  now  .?  " — And  the  poor  old  man  ran  on 
in  a  supplicating,  suggestive  tone,  as  if  he  could  persuade  the  girl 
into  becoming  the  person  whom  he  sought. 

Ayacanora  had  watched  him,  first  angry,  then  amused,  then 
attentive,  and  at  last  with  the  most  intense  earnestness.  Suddenly 
she  grew  crimson,  and  snatching  her  hands  from  the  old  man's, 
hid  her  face  in  them,  and  stood. 

"  Do  you  remember  anything  of  all  this,  my  child  ?  "  asked 
Amyas  gently. 

She  lifted  up  her  eyes  suddenly  to  his,  with  a  look  of  imploring- 
agony,  as  if  beseeching  him  to  spare  her.  The  death  of  a  whole 
old  life,  the  birth  of  a  whole  new  life,  was  struggling  in  that  beau- 
tiful face,  choking-  in  that  magnificent  throat,  as  she  threw  back 
her  small  head,  and  drew  in  her  breath,  and  dashed  her  locks 
back  from  her  temples,  as  if  seeking  for  fresh  air.  She  shuddered, 
reeled,  then  fell  weeping  on  the  bosom,  not  of  Salvation  Yeo,  but 
of  Amyas  Leigh. 

He  stood  still  a  minute  or  two,  bearing  that  fair  burden,  ere  he 
could  recollect  himself.     Then, — 

"  Ayacanora,  you  are  not  yet  mistress  of  yourself,  my  child. 
You  were  better  to  go  down,  and  see  after  poor  Lucy,  and  we 
will  talk  about  it  all  to-morrow." 

She  gathered  herself  up  instantly,  and  with  eyes  fixed  on  th? 
tieck  slid  through  the  group,  and  disappeared  below. 

"  Ah  !  "  said  Yeo,  with  a  tone  of  exquisite  sadness  ;  "  the  young 
to  the  young  !  Over  land  and  sea,  in  the  forests  and  in  the  galleys, 
in  battle  and  prison,  I  have  sought  her  !     And  now  ! " 

"  My  good  friend,"  said  Amyas,  "  neither  are  you  master  of 
yourself  yet.  When  she  comes  round  again,  whom  will  she  love 
and  thank  but  you  ?  " 

"  You,  sir  !  She  owes  all  to  you  ;  and  so  do  I.  Let  me  go 
below,  sir.  My  old  wits  are  shaky.  Bless  you,  sir,  and  thank  you 
forever  and  ever  !  " 

And  Yeo  grasped  Amyas's  hand,  and  went  down  to  his  cabin, 
from  which  he  did  not  reappear  for  many  hours. 

From  that  day  Ayacanora  was  a  new  creature.  The  thought 
that  she  was  an  Englishwoman  ;  that  she,  the  wild  Indian,  was 
really  one  of  the  ^reat  white  people  whom  she  had  learned  to  wor- 
ship, carried  in  it  some  regenerating  change  :  she  regained  all 


422 


IVESl'PVARD  HO  r 


her  former  stateliness,  and  with  it  a  self-restraint,  a  temperance^ 

a  softness  which  she  had  never  shown  before.  Her  dislike  to 
Gary  and  Jack  vanished.  Modest  and  distant  as  ever,  she  now 
took  delight  in  learning'  from  them  about  England  and  English 
people  ;  and  her  knowledge  of  our  customs  gained  much  from 
the  somewhat  fantastic  behavior  which  Amyas  thought  good,  for 
reasons  of  his  own,  to  assume  toward  her.  He  assigned  her  a 
handsome  cabin  to  herself,  always  addressed  her  as  Madam  and 
told  Gary,  Brimblecombe,  and  the  whole  crew  that  as  she  was  a  lady 
and  a  Ghristian,  he  expected  them  to  behave  to  her  as  such.  So 
there  was  as  much  bowing  and  scraping  on  the  poop  as  ii  it  had 
been  a  prince's  court  :  and  Ayacanora,  though  sorely  puzzled  and 
chagrined  at  Amyas's  new  solemnity,  contrived  to  imitate  it  pretty 
well  (taking  for  granted  that  it  was  the  right  thing)  ;  and  having 
tolerable  masters  in  the  art  of  manners  (for  both  Amyas  and  Gary 
were  thoroughly  well-bred  men),  profited  much  in  all  things, 
except  in  intimacy  with  Amyas,  who  had,  cunning  fellow,  hit  on 
this  parade  of  good  manners,  as  a  fresh  means  of  increasing  the 
distance  between  him  and  her.  The  crew,  of  course,  though  they 
were  a  little  vexed  at  losing  their  pet,  consoled  themselves  witn 
the  thought  that  she  was  a  "  real  born  lady,"  and  Mr.  Oxenham's 
daughter,  too  ;  and  there  was  not  a  man  on  board  who  did  not 
pick  up  his  ears  for  a  message  if  she  approached  him,  or  one  who 
would  not  have,  I  verily  believe,  jumped  overboard  to  do  her  a 
pleasure. 

Only  Yeo  kept  sorrowfully  apart.  He  never  looked  at  her, 
spoke  to  her,  met  her  even,  if  he  could.  His  dream  had  vanished. 
He  had  found  her  !  and  after  all,  she  did  not  care  for  him  ?  Why 
should  she  ? 

But  it  was  hard  to  have  hunted  a  bubble  for  years,  and  have  it 
break  in  his  hand  at  last.  ••  Set  not  your  affections  on  things  on 
the  earth,"  murmured  Yeo  to  himself,  as  he  pored  over  his  Bible, 
in  the  vain  hope  of  forgetting  his  little  maid. 

But  why  did  Amyas  wish  to  increase  the  distance  between  him- 
self and  Ayacanora  1  Many  reasons  might  be  given  :  I  deny  none 
of  them.  But  the  main  one,  fantastic  as  it  may  seem,  was  simply, 
that  while  she  had  discovered  herself  to  be  an  Englishwoman, 
he  had  discovered  her  to  be  a  Spaniard.  If  her  father  were  seven 
times  John  Oxenham  (and  even  that  the  perverse  fellow  was  in- 
clined to  doubt),  her  mother  was  a  Spaniard — Pah  !  one  of  the 
accursed  race  ;  kinswoman, — perhaps,  to  his  brother's  murderers  ! 
His  jaundiced  eyes  could  see  nothing  but  the  Spanish  element  in 
her  ;  or,  indeed,  in  anything  else.  As  Gary  said  to  him  once, 
using  a  cant  phrase  of  Sidney's,  which  he  had  picked  up  from 
Frank,  all  heaven  and  earth  were  "  spaniolated  "  to  him.  He 
seemed  to  recollect  nothing  but  that  Heaven  had  "  made  Span- 
iards to  be  killed,  and  him  to  kill  them."  If  he  had  not  been  the 
most  sensible  of  John  Bulls,  he  would  certainly  have  forestalled 
the  monomania  of  that  young  Frenchman  of  rank,  who,  some 
eighty  years  after  him,  so  maddened  his  brain  by  reading  of  the 


IV£S  TWA  RD  HO  !  423 

Spanish  cruelties,  that  he  threw  up  all  his  prospects  and  turned 
captain  of  Filibusters  in  the  West  Indies,  for  the  express  purpose 
of  ridding  them  of  their  tyrants;  and  when  a  Spanish  ship  vras 
taken,  used  to  relinquish  the  whole  booty  to  his  crew,  and  reserve 
for  himself  only  the  pleasure  of  witnessing  his  victims'  dying 
agonies. 

But  what  had  become  of  that  bird-like  song  of  AyacanoraV> 
which  had  astonished  them  on  the  banks  of  the  Meta,  and  cheered 
them  many  a  time  in  their  anxious  voyage  down  the  Magdalena  ? 
From  the  moment  that  she  found  out  her  English  parentage,  it 
stopped.  She  refused  utterly  to  sing  anything  but  the  songs  and 
psalms  which  she  picked  up  from  the  English.  Whether  it  was 
that  she  despised  it  as  a  relic  of  her  barbarism,  or  whether  it  was 
too  maddening  for  one  whose  heart  grew  heavier  and  humbler 
day  by  day,  the  nightingale  notes  were  heard  no  more. 

So  homeward  they  ran,  before  a  favoring  south-west  breeze  : 
but  long  ere  thev  were  within  sight  of  land,  Lucy  Passmore  was 
gone  to  her  rest  beneath  the  Atlantic  waves. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
HOW  AMYAS  CAME  HOME  THE  THIRD  TIME. 

*'  It  fell  about  the  Martinmas, 

When  nights  were  lang  and  mirle« 

That  wife's  twa  sons  cam  hame  agai% 

And  their  hats  were  o'  tlie  birk. 

**  It  did  na  graw  by  bush  or  brae, 
Nor  yet  in  ony  shough  ; 
But  by  the  gates  o'  paradise 
That  birk  grew  fair  eneugh." 

The  Wife  cf  Usher*  s  JVeB. 

It  is  the  evening  of  the  15th  of  February  1587,  and  Mrs.  Leigh 
(for  we  must  return  now  to  old  scenes  and  old  faces)  is  pacing 
slowly  up  and  down  the  terrace-walk  at  Burrough,  looking  out 
over  the  winding  river,  and  the  hazy  sand-hills,  and  the  wide 
western  sea,  as  she  has  done  every  evening,  be  it  fair  weather  or 
foul,  for  three  weary  years.  Three  years  and  more  are  past  and 
gone,  and  yet  no  news  of  Frank  and  Amyas,  and  the  gallant  ship 
and  all  the  gallant  souls  therein  ;  and  loving  eyes  in  Bideford  and 
Appledore,  Clovelly  and  Ilfracombe,  have  grown  hollow  with 
watching  and  with  weeping  for  those  who  have  sailed  away  into 
the  West,  as  John  Oxenham  sailed  before  them,  and  have  vanished 
like  a  dream,  as  he  did,  into  the  infinite  unknown.  Three  weary 
years,  and  yet  no  word.  Once  there  was  a  flush  of  hope,  and 
good  Sir  Richard  (without  Mrs.  Leigh's  knowledge)  had  sent  a 
horseman  posting  across  to  Plymouth,  when  the  news  arrived  that 
Drake,  Frobisher,  and  Carlisle  had  returned  with  their  squadron 


424 


yVEST^AJiD  HOI 


from  the  Spanish  Main.  Alas  !  he  brought  back  great  news» 
glorious  news  ;  news  of  the  sacking  of  Carthagena,  San  Domingo, 
Saint  Augustine  ;  of  the  relief  ot  Raleigh's  Virginian  Colony  : 
but  no  news  of  the  Rose,  and  of  those  who  had  sailed  in  her. 
And  Mrs.  Leigh  bowed  her  head,  and  worshipped,  and  said,  "  The 
Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken  away  ;  blessed  be  the  name 
of  the  Lord  !  " 

Her  hair  was  now  grown  gray  ;  her  cheeks  were  wan  ;  her  step 
was  feeble.  She  seldom  went  from  home,  save  to  the  church,  and 
to  the  neighboring  cottages.  She  never  mentioned  her  son's 
names  ;  never  allowed  a  word  to  pass  her  lips,  which  might  be- 
token that  she  thought  of  them  ;  but  every  day,  when  the  tide  was 
high,  and  red  flag  on  the  sandhills  showed  that  there  was  water 
over  the  bar,  she  paced  the  terrace-walk,  and  devoured  with 
greedy  eyes  the  sea  beyond,  in  search  of  the  sail  which  never 
came.  The  stately  ships  went  in  and  out  as  of  yore;  and  white 
sails  hung  off  the  bar  for  many  an  hour,  day  after  day,  month  after 
month,  year  after  year  :  but  an  instinct  within  told  her  that  none 
of  them  were  the  sails  she  sought.  She  knew  that  ship,  every  line 
of  her,  the  cut  of  every  cloth  ;  she  could  have  picked  it  out  miles 
away,  among  a  whole  fleet,  but  it  never  came,  and  Mrs.  Leigh 
bowed  her  head  and  worshipped,  and  went  to  and  fro  among  the 
poor,  who  looked  on  her  as  an  awful  being,  and  one  whom  God 
had  brought  very  near  to  Himself,  in  that  mysterious  heaven  of 
sorrow  which  they  too  knew  full  well.  And  lone  women  and  bed- 
ridden men  looked  in  her  steadfast  eyes,  and  loved  them,  and 
drank  in  strength  from  them  ;  for  they  knew  (though  she  never 
spoke  of  her  own  grief)  that  she  had  gone  down  into  the  fiercest 
depths  of  the  fiery  furnace,  and  was  walking  there  unhurt  by  the 
side  of  One  whose  form  was  as  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  all  the 
while  she  was  blaming  herself  for  her  "earthly"  longings,  and 
confessing  nightly  to  Heaven  that  weakness  which  she  could  not 
shake  off,  which  drew  her  feet  at  each  high  tide  to  the  terrace- 
walk  beneath  the  row  of  wind-clipt  trees. 

But  this  evening  Northam  is  in  a  stir.  The  pebble  ridge  is 
thundering  far  below,  as  it  thundered  years  ago :  but  Northam  is 
noisy  enough  without  the  rolling  of  the'surge.  The  tower  is  rock- 
ing with  the  pealing  bells  :  the  people  are  all  in  the  streets 
shouting  and  singing  round  bonfires.  They  are  burning  the  pope 
in  effigy,  drinking  to  the  queen's  health,  and  "  So  perish  all  her 
enemies  !  "  The  hills  are  red  with  bonfires  in  every  village  ;  and 
far  away,  the  bells  of  Bideford  are  answering  the  bells  of  Northam, 
as  they  answered  them  seven  years  ago,  when  Amyas  returned 
from  sailing  round  the  world.  P^or  this  day  has  come  the  news 
that  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  is  beheaded  in  Fotheringay  ;  and  all 
England,  like  a  dreamer  who  shakes  off  some  hideous  nightmare, 
has  leapt  up  in  one  tremendous  shout  of  jubilation,  as  the  terror 
and  the  danger  of  seventeen  anxious  years  is  lifted  from  its  heart 
forever. 

Yes,  she  is  gone,  to  answer  at  a  higher  tribunal  than  that  of  the 


WESTWARD  Hot  425 

•Estates  of  England,  for  all  the  noble  English  blood  which  ha« 
been  poured  out  for  her  ;  for  all  the  noble  English  hearts  whom 
she  has  tempted  into  treachery,  rebellion,  and  murder.  Elizabeth's 
own  words  have  been  fulfilled  at  last,  after  years  of  long-suffering  ; — 

"  The  daughter  of  debate, 

That  discord  aye  doth  sow, 
Hath  reap'd  ro  pain  where  former  rule 
Hath  taught  still  peace  to  grow." 

And  now  she  can  do  evil  no  more.  Murder  and  adultery,  the 
heart  which  knew  no  forgiveness,  the  tongue  which  could  not 
speak  truth  even  for  its  own  interest,  have  past  and  are  perhaps 
atoned  for  ;  and  her  fair  face  hangs  a  pitiful  dream  in  the  mem- 
ory even  of  those  who  knew  that  either  she,  or  England,  must 
perish. 

^'  Nothing  is  left  of  her 
Now  but  pure  womanly.'* 

And  Mrs.  Leigh,  Protestant  as  she  is,  breathes  a  prayer,  that  the 
Lord  may  have  mercy  on  that  soul,  as  "  clear  as  diamond,  and  as 
hard,"  as  she  said  of  herself  That  last  scene,  too,  before  the 
fatal  block — it  could  not  be  altogether  acting.  Mrs.  Leigh  had 
learned  many  a  priceless  lesson  in  the  last  seven  years  ;  might 
not  Mary  Stuart  have  learned  something  in  seventeen  ?  And  Mrs. 
Leigh  had  been  a  courtier,  and  knew,  as  far  as  a  chaste  English- 
woman could  know  (which  even  in  those  coarser  days  was  not 
very  much),  of  that  godless  style  of  French  court  profligacy  in 
which  poor  Mary  had  had  her  youthful  training,  amid  the  Medicis, 
and  the  Guises,  and  Cardinal  Lorraine  ;  and  she  shuddered,  and 
sighed  to  herself—"  To  whom  little  is  given,  of  them  shall  little  be 
required  !  "     But  still  the  bells  pealed  on  and  would  not  cease. 

What  was  that  which  answered  them  from  afar  out  of  the  fast 
darkening  twilight  .-*  A  flash,  and  then  the  thunder  of  a  gun  at 
sea. 

Mrs.  Leigh  stopped.  The  flash  was  right  outside  the  bar.  A 
ship  in  distress  it  could  not  be.  The  wind  was  light  and  westerly. 
It  was  a  high  spring-tide,  as  evening  floods  are  always  there. 
What  could  it  be  ?  Another  flash,  another  gun.  The  noisy  folks 
of  Northam  were  hushed  at  once,  and  all  hurried  into  the  church- 
yard which  looks  down  on  the  broad  flats  and  the  river. 

There  was  a  gallant  ship  outside  the  bar.  She  was  running  in, 
too,  with  all  sails  set.  A  large  ship  ;  nearly  a  thousand  tons  she 
might  be  ;  but  not  of  English  rig.  What  was  the  meaning  of  it  ? 
A  Spanish  cruiser  about  to  make  reprisals  for  Drake's  raid  along 
the  Cadiz  shore  !  Not  that,  surely.  The  Don  had  no  fancy  for 
such  unscientific  and  dare-devil  warfare.  If  he  came,  he  would 
come  with  admiral,  rear-admiral,  and  vice-admiral,  transports, 
and  avisos,  according  to  the  best-approved  methods,  articles,  and 
science  of  war.     What  could  she  be  .? 

Easily,  on  the  flowing  tide,  and  fair  western  wind,  she  has  slipped 
up  the  channel  between  the  two  lines  of  sandhill.  She  is  almost 
off  Appledore  now.     She  is  no  enemy  ;  and  if  she  be  a  foreigne- 


426  WESTWARD  HO! 

she  is  a  daring  one,  for  she  has  never  veiled  her  topsails, — and 
that,  all  know^,  every  foreign  ship  must  do  within  sight  of  an  Eng- 
lish port,  or  stand  the  chance  of  war  ;  as  the  Spanish  admiral 
found,  who  many  a  year  since  was  sent  in  time  of  peace  to  fetch 
home  from  Flanders  Anne  of  Austria,  Philip  the  Second's  last 
wife. 

For  in  his  pride  he  sailed  into  Plymouth  Sound  without  veiling 
topsails,  or  lowering  the  flag  of  Spain.  Whereon,  like  lion  from 
his  den,  out  rushed  John  Hawkins  the  port  Admiral,  in  his  famous 
Jesus  of  Lubec  (afterwards  lost  in  the  San  Juan  d'UUoa  fight),  and 
without  argument  or  parley,  sent  a  shot  between  the  admiral's 
masts  ;  which  not  producing  the  desired  effect,  alongside  ran  bold 
Captain  John,  and  with  his  next  shot,  so  says  his  son,  an  eye-wit- 
ness, "  lackt  the  admiral  through  and  through  ;  "  whereon  down 
came  the  offending  flag  ;  and  due  apologies  were  made  :  but  not 
accepted  for  a  long  time  by  the  stout  guardian  of  her  Majesty's 
honor.  And  if  John  Hawkins  did  as  much  for  a  Spanish  fleet  in 
time  of  peace,  there  is  more  than  one  old  sea-dog  in  Appledore 
who  will  do  as  much  for  a  single  ship  in  time  of  war,  if  he  can 
find  even  an  iron  pot  to  burn  powder  withal. 

The  strange  sail  passed  out  of  sight  behind  the  hill  of  Apple- 
dore ;  and  then  there  rose  into  the  quiet  evening  air  a  cheer,  as 
from  a  hundred  throats.  Mrs.  Leigh  stood  still,  and  listened. 
Another  gun  thundered  among  the  hills  ;  and  then  another  cheer. 
^  It  might  have  been  twenty  minutes  before  the  vessel  hove  in 
sight  again  round  the  dark  rocks  of  the  Hubbastone,  as  she  turned 
up  the  Bideford  river.  Mrs.  Leigh  had  stood  that  whole  time  per- 
fectlv  motionless,  a  pale  and  scarcely  breathing  statue,  her  eyes 
fixecl  upon  the  Viking's  rock. 

Round  the  Hubbastone  she  came  at  last.  There  was  music  on 
board,  drums  and  fifes,  shawms  and  trumpets,  which  wakened 
ringing  echoes  from  every  knoll  of  wood  and  slab  of  slate.  And 
as  she  opened  full  on  Burrough  House,  another  cheer  burst  from 
her  crew,  and  rolled  up  to  the  hills  from  off  the  silver  waters  far 
below,  full  a  mile  away. 

Mrs.  Leigh  walked  quickly  toward  the  house,  and  called  her 
maid, — 

♦'  Grace,  bring  me  my  hood.     Master  Amyas  is  come  home  !  " 

"  No,  surely  1  O  joyful  sound  !  Praised  and  blessed  be  the 
Lord,  then  ;  praised  and  blessed  be  the  Lord  !  But,  Madam,  how- 
ever did  you  know  that  .'*  " 

"  I  heard  his  voice  on  the  river  ;  but  I  did  not  hear  Mr.  Frank's 
with  him,  Grace  !  " 

"  Oh,  be  sure.  Madam,  where  the  one  is  the  other  is.  They'd 
never  part  company.  Both  come  home  or  neither,  I'll  -warrant. 
Here's  your  hood.  Madam." 

And  Mrs.  Leigh,  with  Grace  behind  her,  started  with  rapid  steps 
towards  Bideford. 

Was  it  true  ?  Was  it  a  dream  ?  Had  the  divine  instinct  of 
the  mother  enabled  her  to  recognize  her  child's  voice  among  all  the 


WESTWARD  not  427 

rest,  and  at  that  enormous  distance  ;  or  was  her  brain  turning 
with  the  long  effort  of  her  supernatural  calm  ? 

Grace  asked  herself,  in  her  own  way,  that  same  question  many 
a  time  between  Burrough  and  Bideford.  When  they  arrived  on 
the  quay  the  question  answered  itself. 

As  they  came  down  Bridgeland  Street  (where  afterwards  the 
tobacco  warehouses  for  the  Virginia  trade  used  to  stand,  but 
which  then  was  but  a  row  of  rope-walks  and  sailmakers'  shops), 
they  could  see  the  strange  ship  already  at  anchor  in  the  river. 
They  had  just  reached  the  lower  end  of  the  street,  when  round  the 
corner  swept  a  great  mob,  sailors,  women,  'prentices,  hurrahing, 
questioning,  weeping,  laughing  :  Mrs.  Leigh  stopped  ;  and  be- 
hold, they  stopped  also. 

"  Here  she  is  !  "  shouted  some  one  ;  "  here's  his  mother  !  " 

"  His  mother  ?  Not  their  mother  !  "  said  Mrs.  Leigh  to  her- 
self, and  turned  very  pale  ;  but  that  heart  was  long  past  breaking. 

The  next  moment  the  giant  head  and  shoulders  of  Amyas,  far 
above  the  crowd,  swept  round  the  corner. 

"  Make  a  way  !  Make  room  for  Madam  Leigh  !  " — And  Amyas 
fell  on  his  knees  at  her  feet. 

She  threw  her  arms  round  his  neck,  and  bent  her  fair  head  over 
his,  while  sailors,  'prentices,  and  coarse  harbor-women  were 
hushed  into  holy  silence,  and  made  a  ring  round  the  mother  and 
the  son, 

Mrs.  Leigh  asked  no  question.  She  saw  that  Amyas  was 
alone. 

At  last  he  whispered,  "  I  would  have  died  to  save  him,  mother, 
if  I  could." 

"You  need  not  tell  me  that,  Amyas  Leigh,  my  son." 

Another  silence. 

"  How  did  he  die  ?  "  whispered  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  He  is  a  martyr.     He  died  in  the " 

Amyas  could  say  no  more. 

*'The  Inquisition  ?" 

"Yes." 

A  strong  shudder  passed  through  Mrs.  Leigh's  frame,  and  then 
she  lifted  up  her  head. 

"  Come  home,  Amyas.  I  little  expected  such  an  honor — such  an 
honor— ha  !  ha  !  and  such  a  fair  young  martyr,  too  ;  a  very  St. 
Stephen  !  God,  have  mercy  on  me  ;  and  let  me  not  go  mad  be- 
fore these  folk,  when  I  ought  to  be  thanking  Thee  for  Thy  great 
mercies  !     Amyas,  who  is  that  "i  " 

And  she  pointed  to  Ayacanora,  who  stood  close  behind  Amyas, 
watching  with  keen  eyes  the  whole. 

"  She  is  a  poor  wild  Indian  girl — my  daughter,  I  call  her. 
I  will  tell  you  her  story  hereafter." 

"  Your  daughter  ?  My  grand-daughter,  then.  Come  hither, 
maiden,  and  be  my  grand-daughter." 

Ayacanora  came  obedient,  and  knelt  down,  because  she  had 
seen  Amyas  kneel. 


428  WESTWAIiD  HO! 

"  God  forbid,  child  !  kneel  not  to  me.  Come  home,  and  let  m€ 
know  whether  I  am  sane  or  mazed,  alive  or  dead." 

And  drawing  her  hood  over  her  face,  she  turned  to  go  back, 
holding  Amyas  tight  by  one  hand,  and  Ayacanora  by  the  other. 

The  crowd  let  them  depart  some  twenty  yards  in  respectful 
silence,  and  then  burst  into  a  cheer  which  made  the  old  town 
ring. 

Mrs.  Leigh  stopped  suddenly. 

"  I  had  forgotten,  Amyas.  You  must  not  let  me  stand  in  the 
way  of  your  duty.     Where  are  your  men  ?  " 

"  Kissed  to  death  by  this  time ;  all  of  them,  that  is,  who  are 
left." 

"  Left  ?  " 

"  We  went  out  a  hundred,  mother,  and  we  came  home  forty- 
lour— if  we  are  at  home.  Is  it  a  dream,  mother  ?  Is  this  you  ? 
and  this  old  Bridgeland  Street  again  ?  As  I  live,  there  stands 
Evans  the  smith,  at  his  door,  tankard  in  hand,  as  he  did  when  I 
was  a  boy  !  " 

The  brawny  smith  came  across  the  street  to  them  ;  but  stopped 
when  he  saw  Amyas,  but  no  Frank, 

"  Better  one  than  neither,  Madam  !  "  said  he  trying  a  rough 
comfort.  Amyas  shook  his  hand  as  he  passed  him  ;  but  Mrs. 
Leigh  neither  heard  nor  saw  him,  nor  any  one. 

"  Mother,"  said  Amyas  when  they  were  now  past  the  causeway, 
"we  are  rich  for  life." 

"  Yes  ;  a  martyr's  death  was  the  fittest  for  him." 

"  I  have  brought  home  treasure  untold." 

••  What,  my  boy  ?  " 

"  Treasure  untold.     Gary  has  promised  to  see  to  it  to-night." 

"  Very  well  I  would  that  he  had  slept  at  our  house.  He  was 
a  kindly  lad,  and  loved  Frank.     When  did  he  .? " 

"  Three  years  ago,  and  more.  Within  two  months  of  our  sail- 
ing." 

"Ah  !  Yes,  he  told  me  so." 

"  Told  you  so  }  " 

"  Yes  ;   the  dear  lad  has  often  come  to  see  me  in  my  sleep 
but  you  never  came.     I  guessed  how  it  was — as  it  should  be." 

"  But  I  loved  you  none  the  less,  mother  !  " 

"  I  know  that,  too  ;  but  you  were  busy  with  the  men,  you 
know,  sweet  ;  so  your  spirit  could  not  come  roving  home  like  nis, 
which  was  free.  Yes — all  as  it  should  be.  My  maid,  and  do  you 
not  find  it  cold  here  in  England,  after  those  hot  regions  ?  " 

"  Ayacanora's  heart  is  warm  ;  she  does  not  think  about  cold.** 

"  Warm  ?  perhaps  yeu  will  warm  my  heart  for  me,  then." 

"  Would  God  I  could  do  it,  mother  1  "  said  Amyas,  half  re* 
proachfully. 

Mrs.  Leigh  looked  up  in  his  face,  and  burst  into  a  violent  floocj 
of  tears. 

"  Sinful  !  sinful  that  I  am  !  " 

••  Blessed  creature  I  "  cried  Amyas,  "  if  you  speak  so  I  shall  gc 


WESTWARD  HO  !  42^ 

mad.  Mother,  mother,  I  have  been  dreading  this  meeting  for 
months.  It  has  been  a  nightmare  hanging  over  me  like  a  horrible 
black  thunder-cloud  ;  a  great  cliff  miles  high,  with  its  top  hid  in 
the  clouds,  which  I  had  to  climb,  and  dare  not.  I  have  longed  to 
leap  overboard,  and  flee  from  it  like  a  coward  into  the  depths  of 
the  sea. — The  thought  that  you  might  ask  me  whether  I  was  not 
my  brother's  keeper — that  you  might  require  his  blood  at  my 
hands — and  now,  now  !  when  it  comes  !  to  find  you  all  love,  and 
trust,  and  patience — mother,  mother,  it's  more  than  I  can  bear  !  " 
and  he  wept  violently. 

Mrs.  Leigh  knew  enough  of  Amyas  to  know  that  any  burst  of 
this  kind,  from  his  quiet  nature,  betokened  some  very  fearful 
struggle  ;  and  the  loving  creature  forgot  everything  instantly,  in 
the  one  desire  to  soothe  him. 

And  soothe  him  she  did  ;  and  home  the  two  went,  arm  in  arm 
together,  while  Ayacanora  held  fast,  like  a  child,  by  the  skirt  of 
Mrs.  Leigh's  cloak.  The  self-help  and  daring  of  the  forest  nymph 
had  given  place  to  the  trembling  modesty  of  the  young  girl, 
suddenly  cast  on  shore  in  a  new  world,  among  strange  faces, 
strange  hopes,  and  strange  fears  also. 

"  Will  your  mother  love  me  ? "  whispered  she  to  Amyas,  as 
she  went  in. 

•'  Yes ;  but  you  must  do  what  she  tells  you."  Ayacanora 
pouted. 

"She  will  laugh  at  me,  because  I  am  wild.** 
*•  She  never  laughs  at  any  one." 

"  Humph  1 "  said  Ayacanora.  "  Well,  I  shall  not  be  afraid  of 
ber.  I  thought  she  would  have  been  tall  like  you  ;  but  she  is  not 
even  as  big  as  me." 

This  hardly  sounded  hopeful  for  the  prospect  of  Ayacanora's 
obedience  :  but  ere  twenty-four  hours  had  passed,  Mrs.  Leigh 
had  won  her  over  utterly  ;  and  she  explained  her  own  speech  by 
saying  that  she  thought  so  great  a  man  ought  to  have  a  great 
mother.  She  had  expected  poor  thing,  in  her  simplicity,  some 
awful  princess  with  a  frown  like  Juno's  own,  and  found  instead  a 
healing  angel. 

Her  story  was  soon  told  to  Mrs.  Leigh,  who  of  course,  woman- 
/ike,  would  not  allow  a  doubt  as  to  her  identity.  And  the  sweet 
mother  never  imprinted  a  prouder  or  fonder  kiss  upon  her  son's 
forehead,  than  that  with  which  she  repaid  his  simple  declaration, 
that  ne  had  kept  unspotted,  like  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian,  the 
soul  which  God  had  put  into  his  charge. 
'•  Then  you  have  forgiven  me,  mother  "i  ** 

"  Years  ago  I  said  in  this  same  room,  what  should  I  render  to 
the  Lord  for  having  given  me  two  such  sons  ?  And  in  this  room 
I  say  it  once  again.  Tell  me  all  about  my  other  son,  that  I  may 
honor  him  as  I  honor  you." 

And  then,  with  the  iron  nerve  which  good  women  have,  sh'^ 
made  him  give  her  every  detail  of  Lucy  Passmore's  story,  and  o^ 
all  which  had  happened  from  the  day  of  their  sailing  to  that  luck 


430 


IVESTWARD  HO  1 


less  night  ai  Guayra.  And  when  it  was  done,  she  led  Ayacanora 
out,  and  began  busying  herself  about  the  girl's  comforts,  as  calmly 
as  if  Frank  and  Amyas  had  been  sleeping  in  their  cribs  in  the 
next  room. 

But  she  had  hardly  gone  upstairs,  when  a  loud  knock  at  the 
door  was  followed  by  its  opening  hastily  ;  and  into  the  hall  burst, 
regardless  of  etiquette,  the  tall  and  stately  figure  of  Sir  Richard 
Grenvile. 

Amyas  dropped  on  his  knees  instinctively.  The  stern  warrior 
was  quite  unmanned  ;  and  as  he  bent  over  his  godson,  a  tear 
dropped  from  that  iron  cheek,  upon  the  iron  cheek  of  Amyas 

"  My  lad  !  my  glorious  lad  !  and  where  have  you  been  ?  Get 
up,  and  tell  me  all.  The  sailors  told  me  a  little,  but  I  must  hear 
every  word.  I  knew  you  would  do  something  grand.  I  told  your 
mother  you  were  too  good  a  workman  for  God  to  throw  away. 
Now,  let  me  have  the  whole  storv.  Why,  I  am  out  of  breath  \ 
To  tell  truth,  I  ran  three-parts  of  the  way  hither." 

And  down  the  two  sat,  and  Amyas  talked  long  into  the  night  ; 
while  Sir  Richard,  his  usual  stateliness  recovered,  smiled  stern 
approval  at  each  deed  of  daring  ;  and  when  all  was  ended,  an- 
swered  with  something  like  a  sigh — 

"  Would  God  that  I  had  been  with  you  every  step  !  Would  God, 
at  least,  that  I  could  show  as  good  a  three-years'  log-book,  Amyas, 
my  lad  !  " 

"  You  can  show  a  better  one,  I  doubt  not." 

"  Humph  !  With  the  exception  of  one  paltry  Spanish  prize,  I 
don't  know  that  the  queen  is  the  better,  or  her  enemies  the  worse, 
for  me,  since  we  parted  last  in  Dublin  city." 

"  You  are  too  modest,  sir." 

"  Would  that  I  were  ;  but  I  got  on  in  Ireland,  I  found,  no  better 
than  my  neighbors  ;  and  so  came  home  again,  to  find  that  while 
I  had  been  wasting  my  time  in  that  land  ot  misrule,  Raleigh  had 
done  a  deed  to  which  I  can  see  no  end.  For,  lad,  he  has  found 
(or  rather  his  two  captains,  Amadas  and  Barlow,  have  found  for 
him)  between  Florida  and  Newfoundland,  a  country,  the  like  of 
which,  I  believe,  there  is  not  on  the  earth  for  climate  and  fertility. 
Whether  there  be  gold  there,  I  know  not,  and  it  matters  little" ; 
for  there  is  all  else  on  earth  that  man  can  want  ;  furs,  timber, 
rivers,  game,  s.ug;ar-canes,  corn,  fruit,  and  every  commodity  which 
France,  Spain,  or  Italy  can  yield,  wild  in  abundance  ;  the  savages 
civil  enough  for  savages,  and,  in  a  word,  all  which  goes  to  the 
making  of  as  noble  a  jewel  as  her  Majesty's  crown  can  wear.  The 
people  call  it  Wingandacoa  ;  but  we,  after  her  Majesty,  Virginia." 

''■  You  have  been  there,  then  ?  " 

"  The  year  before  last,  lad  ;  and  left  there  Ralf  Lane,  Amadas, 
and  some  twenty  gentlemen,  and  ninety  men,  and,  moreover, 
some  money  of  my  own,  and  some  of  old  Will  Salterne's,  which 
neither  of  us  will  ever  see  again.  For  the  colony,  I  know  not  how, 
quarrelled  with  the  Indians  (I  fear  I  too  was  over-sharp  with  some 


WESTWARD  HO  i  431. 

of  them  for  stealing— if  I  was,  God  forgive  me  !),  and  could  not, 
forsooth,  keep  themselves  alive  for  twelve  months  ;  so  that  Drake, 
coming  back  from  his  last  West  Indian  voyage,  after  giving  them 
all  the  help  he  could,  had  to  bring  the  whole  party  home.  And  if 
you  will  believe  it,  the  faint-hearted  fellows  had  not  been  gone  a 
fortnight,  before  1  was  back  again  with  three  ships  and  all  that 
they  could  want.  And  never  was  I  more  wroth  in  my  life,  when 
all  1  found  was  the  ruins  of  their  huts,  which  (so  rich  is  the  growth 
^.here)  were  already  full  of  great  melons,  and  wild  deer  feeding 
thereon — a  pretty  sight  enough,  but  not  what  I  wanted  just  then. 
So  back  I  came  ;  and  being  in  no  overgood  temper,  vented  my 
humors  on  the  Portugals  at  the  Azores,  and  had  hard  fights  and 
small  booty.  So  there  the  matter  stands,  but  not  for  long  ;  for 
shame  it  were  if  such  a  paradise,  once  found  by  Britons,  should 
fall  into  the  hands  of  any  but  her  Majesty  ;  and  we  will  try  again 
this  spring,  if  men  and  money  can  be  found.     Eh,  lad  ?  " 

"But  the  prize  ?" 

"  Ah  !  that  was  no  small  make-weight  to  our  disasters,  after 
all.  1  sighted  her  for  six  days'  sail  from  the  American  coast  :  but 
ere  we  could  lay  her  aboard  it  fell  dead  calm.  Never  a  boat  had 
I  on  board — they  were  all  lost  in  a  gale  of  wind — and  the  other 
ships  were  becalmed  two  leagues  astern  of  me.  There  was  no  use 
lying  there  and  pounding  her  till  she  sunk  ;  so  I  called  the  car- 
penter, got  up  all  the  old  chests,  and  with  them  and  some  spars 
we  floated  ourselves  alongside,  and  only  just  in  time.  For  the 
last  of  us  had  hardly  scrambled  up  into  the  chains,  when  our  crazy 
Noah's  ark  went  all  aboard,  and  sank  at  the  side,  so  that  if  we  had 
been  minded  to  run  away,  Amyas,  we  could  not ;  whereon,  judg- 
ing valor  to  be  the  better  part  of  discretion  (as  I  usually  do),  we 
feli  to  with  our  swords  and  had  her  in  five  minutes,  and  fifty 
thousand  pounds'  worth  in  her,  which  set  up  my  purse  again,  and 
Raleigh's  too,  though  I  fear  it  has  run  out  again  since  as  fast  as 
it  ran  in." 

And  so  ended  Sir  Richard's  story. 

Amyas  went  the  next  day  to  Salterne,  and  told  his  tale.  The 
old  man  had  heard  the  outlines  of  it  already  :  but  he  calmly  bade 
him  sit  down,  and  listened  to  all,  his  chin  upon  his  hand,  his  elbows 
on  his  knees.  His  cheek  never  blanched,  his  lips  never  quivered 
throughout.  Only  when  Amyas  came  to  Rose's  marriage,  he 
heaved  a  long  breath,  as  if  a  weight  was  taken  off  his  heart. 

"  Say  that  again,  sir  !  " 

Amyas  said  it  again,  and  then  went  on  ;  faltering,  he  hinted 
at  the  manner  of  her  death. 

"Go  on,  sir!  Why  are  you  afraid  ?  There  is  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of  there,  is  there  ?  " 

Amyas  told  the  whole  with  downcast  eyes,  and  then  stole  a  look 
at  his  hearer's  face.  There  was  no  sign  of  emotion  :  only  some- 
what of  a  proud  smile  curled  the  corners  of  that  iron  mouth. 

"  And  her  husband  ?  "  asked  he.  after  a  pause. 


4  $2  IVES  TWA  RD  HO! 

•'  I  am  ashamed  to  have  to  tell  you,  sir,  that  the  man  still  lives/ 

"  Still  lives,  sir  ?  " 

"  Too  true,  as  far  as  I  know.  That  is  not  my  fault,  my  story 
bears  me  witness." 

"  Sir,  I  never  doubted  your  will  to  kill  him.  Still  lives,  you  say? 
Well,  so  do  rats  and  adders.  And  now,  I  suppose,  Captain 
Leigh,  your  worship  is  minded  to  recruit  yourself  on  shore  a  while 
with  the  fair  lass  whom  you  have  brought  home  (as  I  hear)  before 
having  another  dash  at  the  devil  and  his  kin  !  " 

"  Do  not  mention  that  young  lady's  name  with  mine,  sir  ;  she  is 
no  more  to  me  than  she  is  to  you  ;  for  she  has  Spanish  blood  in 
her  veins." 

Salterne  smiled  grimly. 

"  But  I  am  minded  at  least  to  do  one  thing,  Mr.  Salterne,  and 
that  is,  to  kill  Spaniards,  in  fair  fight,  by  land  and  sea,  whereso- 
ever I  shall  meet  them.  And,  therefore,  I  stay  not  long  here, 
whithersoever  I  may  be  bound  next." 

"  Well,  sir,  when  you  start,  come  to  me  for  a  ship,  and  the  best 
I  have  is  at  your  service  ;  and,  if  she  do  not  suit,  command  her  to 
be  fitted  as  you  like  best  ;  and  I,  William  Salterne,  will  pay  for  all 
which  you  shall  command  to  be  done." 

"  My  good  sir,  I  have  accounts  to  square  with  you  after  a  very 
different  fashion.  As  part-adventurer  in  the  Rose,  I  have  to  de- 
liver to  you  your  share  of  the  treasure  which  I  have  brought 
home." 

"  My  share,  sir  ?  If  I  understood  you,  my  ship  was  lost  off  the 
coast  of  the  Carraccas  three  years  agone,  and  this  treasure  was  all 
won  since  ?  " 

"  True  ;  but  you,  as  an  adventurer  in  the  expedition,  have  a  just 
claim  for  your  share,  and  will  receive  it." 

"  Captain  Leigh,  you  are,  I  see,  as  your  father  was  before  you, 
a  just  and  upright  Christian  man  ;  but,  sir,  this  money  is  none  of 
mine,  for  it  was  won  in  no  ship  of  mine. — Hear  me,  sir  !  And 
if  it  had  been,  and  that  ship" — (he  could  not  speak  her  name) — 
"  lay  safe  and  sound  now  by  Bideford  quay,  do  you  think,  sir,  that 
^yilliam  Salterne  is  the  man  to  make  money  out  of  his  daughter  s 
sin  and  sorrow,  and  to  handle  the  price  of  blood  ?  No,  sir  !  You 
went  like  a  gentleman  to  seek  her,'and  like  a  gentleman,  as  all  the 
world  knows,  you  have  done  your  best,  and  I  thank  you  :  but  our 
account  ends  there.  The  treasure  is  yours,  sir  ;  I  have  enough, 
and  more  than  enough,  and  none,  God  help  me,  to  leave  it  to,  out 
greedy  and  needy  kin,  who  will  be  rather  the  worse  than  the  better 
for  it.  And  if  I  have  a  claim  in  law  for  aught,  which  I  know  not, 
neither  shall  ever  ask — why,  if  you  are  not  too  proud,  accept  that 
claim  as  a  plain  burgher's  thank-offering  to  you,  sir,  for  a  great 
and  a  noble  love  which  you  and  your  brother'have  shown  to  one 
who,  though  I  say  it,  to  my  shame,  was  not  worthy  thereof." 

"  She  was  worthy  of  that  and  more,  sir.  For  if  she  sinned  like 
a  woman,  she  died  like  a  saint." 

"  Yes,  sir  !  "  answered   the  old   man  with  a  proud  smile  ;  "  she 


WESTWARD  Hot  433 

had  the  right  Engh'sh  blood  in  her,  I  doubt  not ;  and  showed  it  at 
the  last.  But  now,  sir,  no  more  of  this.  When  you  need  a  ship, 
mine  is  at  your  service  ;  till  then,  sir,  farewell,  and  God  be  with 
you." 

And  the  old  man  rose,  and  with  an  unmoved  countenance, 
bowed  Amyas  to  the  door.  Amyas  went  back  and  told  Gary, 
bidding  him  take  half  of  Salterne's  gift  :  but  Gary  swore  a  great 
oath  that  he  would  have  none  of  it. 

"  Heir  of  Glovelly,  Amyas,  and  want  to  rob  you  ?  I  who  have 
lost  nothing, — you  who  have  lost  a  brother  !  God  forbid  that  I 
should  ever  t^uch  a  farthing  beyond  my  original  share  !  " 

That  evening  a  messenger  from  Bideford  came  running  breath- 
less up  to  Burrough  Gourt.  The  authorities  wanted  Amyas's  im- 
mediate attendance,  for  he  was  one  of  the  last,  it  seemed,  who 
had  seen  Mr.  Salterne  alive. 

Salterne  had  gone  over,  as  soon  as  Amyas  departed,  to  an  old 
pcquaintance  ;  signed  and  sealed  his  will  in  their  presence  with  a 
firm  and  cheerful  countenance,  refusing  all  condolence  ;  and  then 
gone  home,  and  locked  himself  into  Rose's  room.  Supper-time 
came,  and  he  did  not  appear.  The  apprentices  could  not  make 
him  answer,  and  at  last  called  in  the  neighbors,  and  forced  the 
door.  Salterne  was  kneeling  by  his  daughter's  bed  ;  his  head  was 
upon  the  coverlet ;  his  Prayer-book  was  open  before  him  at  the 
Burial  Service  ;  his  hands  were  clasped  in  supplication  ;  but  he 
was  dead  and  cold. 

His  will  lay  by  him.  He  had  left  all  his  property  among  his 
poor  relations,  saving  and  excepting  all  money,  etc.,  due  to  him 
as  owner  and  part-adventurer  of  the  ship  Rose,  and  his  new  bark 
of  three  hundred  tons  burden,  now  lying  East-the-water ;  all 
which  was  bequeathed  to  Gaptain  Amyas  Leigh,  on  condition  that 
he  should  re-christen  that  bark  the  Vengeance,  fit  her  out  witK 
part  of  the  treasure,  and  with  her  sail  once  more  against  the  Span* 
lard,  before  three  years  were  past. 

And  this  was  the  end  of  Willian^  Salterne.  mercnar* 


434>-  WESTWARD  HO! 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

HOW   THE   VIRGINIA    FLEET  WAS  STOPPED    BY  THE    QUEEN'S  COM* 

MAND. 

"  The  daughter  of  debate, 

That  discord  still  doth  sow, 
Shall  reap  no  gain  where  former  rule 

H?th  taught  still  peace  to  grow. 
No  foreign  banish'd  wight 
Shall  anker  in  this  port  ; 
Our  realm  it  brooks  no  stranger's   force  : 
Let  them  elsewhere  resort." 

Qu.  Elizabeth.     X5O9. 

And  now  Amyas  is  settled  quietly  at  home  again  ;  and  for  the 
nexttwelve  months  little  passes  worthy  of  record  in  these  pages. 
Yeo  has  installed  himself  as  major  domo,  with  no  very  definite 
functions,  save  those  of  walking  about  everywhere  at  Amyas's 
heels  like  a  lank  gray  wolf-hound,  and  spending  his  evenings  at 
the  fireside,  as  a  true  old  sailor  does  with  his  Bible  on  his  knee, 
and  his  hands  busy  in  manufacturing  numberless  knick-knacks,  use- 
ful and  useless,  for  every  member  of  the  family,  and  above  all  for 
Ayacanora,  whom  he  insults  every  week  by  humbly  offering  some 
toy  only  fit  for  a  child  ;  at  which  she  pouts,  and  is  reproved  by 
Mrs.  Leigh,  and  then  takes  the  gift,  and  puts  it  away  never  to  look 
at  it  again.  For  her  whole  soul  is  set  upon  being  an  English 
maid  ;  and  she  runs  about  all  day  long  after  Mrs.  Leigh,  insisting 
upon  learning  the  mysteries  of  the  kitchen  and  the  stillroom,  and, 
above  all,  the  art  of  marking  clothes  for  herself,  and  at  last  for. 
everybody  in  Northatn.  P'or  first,  she  will  be  a  good  housewife, . 
like  Mrs.  Leigh  ;  and  next  a  new  idea  has  dawned  on  her  ;  that, 
of  helping  others..  To  the  boundless  hospitality  of  the  savage  she 
has  been  of  course  accustomed  :  but  to  give  to  those  who"  can  give 
nothing  in  return,  is  a  new  thought.  She  sees  Mrs.  Leigh  spend- 
ing every  spare  hour  in  working  for  the  poor,  and  visiting  them 
in  their  cottages.  She  sees  Amyas,  after  public  thanks  in  church 
for  his  safe  return,  giving  away  money,  food,  what  not,  in  Northam, 
Appledore,  and  Bideford  ;  buying  cottages  and  making  them 
almshouses  for  worn-out  mariners  ;  and  she  is  told  that  this  is  his 
thank-offering  to  God.  She  is  puzzled  ;  her  notion  of  a  thank- 
offering  was  rather  that  of  the  Indians,  and  indeed  of  the  Spaniards, 
— sacrifices  of  human  victims,  and  the  bedizenment  of  the  Great 
Spirit's  sanctuary  with  their  skulls  and  bones.  Not  that  Amyas, 
as  a  plain  old-fashioned  churchman,  was  unmindful  of  the  good 
old  instinctive  rule,  that  something  should  be  given  to  the  Church 
itself ;  for  the  vicar  of  Northam  was  soon  resplendent  with  a  new 
surplice,  and  what  was  more,  the  altar  with  a  splendid  flagon  and 
salver  of  plate  (lost,  I  suppose,  in  the  civil  wars)  which  had  been 
taken  in  the  great  galleon.     Ayacanora  could   understand    ihat: 


WESTWARD  HOr  435 

but  the  almsgiving  she  could  not,  till  Mrs.  Lei^h  told  her,  in  her 
simple  way,  that  whosoever  gave  to  the  poor,  gave  to  the  Great 
Spirit  ;  for  the  Great  Spirit  was  in  them,  and  in  A.yacanora  too,  if 
she  would  be  quiet  and  listen  to  him,  instead  of  pouting,  and 
stamping,  and  doing  nothing  but  what  she  liked.  And  the  poor 
child  took  in  that  new  thought  like  a  child,  and  worked  her  fingers 
to  the  bone  for  all  the  old  dames  in  Northam,  and  went  about  with 
Mrs.  Leigh,  lovely  and  beloved,  and  looked  now  and  then  out 
from  under  her  long  black  eyelashes  to  see  if  she  was  winning  a 
smile  from  Amyas.  And  on  the  day  on  which  she  v/on  one,  she  ' 
v/as  good  all  day  ;  and  on  the  day  on  which  she  did  not,  she  was 
thoroughly  naughty,  and  would  have  worn  out  the  patience  of  any 
soul  less  chastened  than  Mrs.  Leigh's.  But  as  for  the  pomp  and- 
glory  of  her  dress,  there  was  no  keeping  it  within  bounds;  and 
she  swept  into  church  each  Sunday  bedizened  in  Spanish  finery, 
with  such  a  blaze  and  rustle,  that  the  good  vicar  had  to  remon- 
strate humbly  with  Mrs.  Leigh  on  the  disturbance  which  she 
caused  to  the  eyes  and  thoughts  of  all  his  congregation.  To 
which  Ayacanora  answered,  that  she  was  not  thinking  about 
them,  and  they  need  not  think  about  her  ;  and  that  if  the  Piache 
(in  plain  English,  the  conjuror),  as  she  supposed,  wanted  a 
present,  he  might  have  all  her  Mexican  feather-dresses  ;  she 
would  not  wear  them — they  were  wild  Indian  things,  and  she  was 
an  English  maid — but  they  would  just  do  for  a  Piache  ;  and  so 
darted  upstairs,  brought  them  down,  and  insisted  so  stoutly  on 
arraying  the  vicar  therein,  that  the  good  man  beat  a  swift  retreat. 
But  he  carried  off  with  him,  nevertheless,  one  of  the  handsomest 
mantles,  which,  instead  of  selling  it,  he  converted  cleverly  enough 
into  an  altar-cloth  ;  and  for  several  years  afterwards,  the  com- 
munion at  Northam  was  celebrated  upon  a  blaze  of  emerald, 
azure,  and  crimson,  which  had  once  adorned  the  sinful  body  of 
some  Aztec  prince. 

So  Ayacanora  flaunted  on  ;  while  Amyas  watched  her,  half 
amused,  half  in  simple  pride  of  her  beauty;  and  looked  around 
at  all  gazers,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  See  what  a  fine  bird  I  have 
brought  home  !  " 

Another  great  trouble  which  she  gave  Mrs.  Leigh  was  her  con- 
duct to  the  ladies  of  the  neighborhood.  They  came,  of  course, 
one  and  all,  not  only  to  congratulate  Mrs.  Leigh,  but  to  get  a  peep 
at  the  fair  savage  ;  but  the  fair  savage  snubbed  them  all  rounci. 
from  the  vicar's  wife  to  Lady  Grenvile  herself,  so  effectually,  that 
few  attempted  a  second  visit. 

Mrs.  Leigh  remonstrated,  and  was  answered  by  floods  of  tears. 
"  They  only  come  to  stare  at  a  poor  wild  Indian  girl,  and  she 
would  not  be  made  a  show  of.  She  was  like  a  queen  once,  and 
every  one  obeyed  her  ;  but  here  every  one  looked  down  upon 
her."  But  when  Mrs.  Leigh  asked  her,  whether  she  would  sooner 
go  back  to  the  forests,  the  poor  girl  clung  to  her  like  a  baby,  and 
entreated  not  to  be  sent  away,  "  She  would  sooner  be  a  slave  in 
the  kitchen  here,  than  go  back  to  the  bad  people." 


436  WESTIVARD  HOI 

And  so  on,  month  after  month  of  foolish  storm  and  foolish  sutv 
shine  ;  but  she  was  under  the  shadow  of  one  in  whom  wasneithei 
storm  nor  sunshine,  but  a  perpetual  genial  calm  of  soft  gray  weather, 
which  tempered  down  to  its  own  peacefulness  all  who  entered  its 
charmed  influence  ;  and  the  outbursts  grew  more  and  more  rare, 
and  Ayacanora  more  and  more  rational,  though  no  more  happy, 
day  by  day. 

And  one  by  one  small  hints  came  out  which  made  her  identity 
certain,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  Mrs.  Leigh  and  Yeo.  After  she  had 
become  familiar  with  the  sight  of  houses,  she  gave  them  to  under- 
stand that  she  had  seen  such  things  before.  The  red  cattle,  too, 
seemed  not  unknown  to  her  ;  the  sheep  puzzled  her  for  some  time, 
and  at  last  she  gave  Mrs.  Leigh  to  understand  that  they  were  too 
small. 

"Ah,  madam,"  quoth  Yeo,  who  caught  at  every  straw,  "  it  is 
because  she  has  been  accustomed  to  those  great  camel  sheep  (llamas 
they  call  them)  in  Peru." 

But  Ayacanora's  delight  was  ahorse.  The  use  of  tame  ani- 
mals at  all  was  a  daily  wonder  to  her  ;  but  that  a  horse  could  be 
ridden  was  the  crowning  miracle  of  all  ;  and  a  horse  she  would 
ride,  and  after  plaguing  Amyas  for  one  in  vain  (for  he  did  not 
want  to  break  her  pretty  neck),  she  proposed  confidentially  to 
Yeo  to  steal  one,  and  foiled  in  that,  went  to  the  vicar  and  offered 
to  barter  all  her  finery  for  his  broken-kneed  pony.  But  the  vicar 
was  too  honest  to  drive  so  good  a  bargain,  and  the  matter  ended 
in  Amyas  buying  her  a  jennet,  which  she  learned  in  a  fortnight  to 
ride  like  a  very  Guacho. 

And  now  awoke  another  curious  slumbering  reminiscence.  For 
one  day,  at  Lady  Grenvile's,  invitation,  the  whole  family  went  over 
to  Stow  ;  Mrs.  Leigh  soberly  on  a  pillion  behind  the  groom, 
Ayacanora  cantering  round  and  round  upon  the  moors  like  a 
hound  let  loose,  and  trying  to  make  Amyas  ride  races  with  her. 
But  that  night,  sleeping  in  the  same  room  with  Mrs.  Leigh,  she 
awoke  shrieking,  and  sobbed  out  a  long  story  how  the  "Old  ape 
of  Panama,"  her  especial  abomination,  had  come  to  her  bedside 
and  dragged  her  forth  into  the  courtyard,  and  how  she  had 
mounted  a  horse  and  ridden  with  an  Indian  over  great  moors  and 
high  mountains  down  into  a  dark  wood,  and  there  the  Indian  and 
the -horses  vanished,  and  she  found  herself  suddenly  changed  once 
more  into  a  little  savage  child.  So  strong  was  the  impression, 
that  she  could  not  be  persuaded  that  the  thing  had  not  happened,  • 
if  not  that  night,  at  least  some  night  or  other.  So  Mrs.  Leigh  at 
last  believed  the  same,  and  told  the  company  next  morning  in  her 
pious  way  how  the  Lord  had  revealed  in  a  vision  to  the  poor  child 
who  she  was,  and  how  she  had  been  exposed  in  the  forests  by  her 
jealous  step-father,  and  neither  Sir  Richard  nor  his  wife  could 
doubt  but  that  hers  was  the  true  solution.  It  was  probable  that 
Don  Xararte,  though  his  home  was  Panama,  had  been  often  at 
Quito,  for  Yeo  had  seen  him  come  on  board  the  Lima  ship  at 
Guayaquil,    one   of  the  nearest   ports.     This   would  explain    her 


WESTWARD  HOt  437 

having  been  found  by  the  Indians  beyond  Cotopaxi,  the  nearest 

Eeak  of  the  Eastern  Andes,  if,  as  was  but  too  likely,  the  old  man, 
elieving  her  to   be  Oxenham's  child,  had  conceived   the   fearful 
vengeance  of  exposing  her  in  the  forests. 

Other  little  facts  came  to  light  one  by  one.  They  were  all  con 
nected  (as  was  natural  in  a  savage)  with  some  animal  or  other 
natural  object.  Whatever  impressions  her  morals  or  affections 
had  received,  had  benn  erased  by  the  long  spiritual  death  of  that 
forest  sojourn  ;  and  Mrs.  Leigh  could  not  elicit  from  her  a  trace 
of  feeling  about  her  mother,  or  recollection  of  any  early  religious 
teaching.  This  link,  however,  was  supplied  at  last,  and  in  this  way. 

Sir  Richard  had  brought  home  an  Indian  with  him  from  Vir- 
ginia. Of  his  original  name  I  am  not  sure,  but  he  was  probably 
the  "  Wanchese  "  whose  name  occurs  with  that  of  "  Manteo." 

This  man  was  to  be  baptized  in  the  church  at  Bideford  by  the 
name  of  Raleigh,  his  sponsors  being  most  probably  Raleigh  him- 
self, who  may  have  been  there  on  Virginian  business,  and  Sir  Rich- 
ard Grenvile.  All  the  notabilities  of  Bideford  came,  of  course,  to 
see  the  baptism  of  the  first  "  Red  man"  whose  foot  had  ever  trod- 
den British  soil,  and  the  mayor  and  corporation-men  appeared  In 
full  robes,  with  maces  and  tipstaffs,  to  do  honor  to  that  first-fruits 
of  the  Gospel  in  the  West. 

Mrs.  Leigh  went,  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  Ayacanora  would 
needs  go  too.  She  was  very  anxious  to  know  what  they  were 
going  to  do  with  the  "  Carib." 

'♦  To  make  him  a  Christian." 

*•  Why  did  they  not  make  her  one  ?  " 

Because  she  was  one  already.  They  were  sure  that  she  had 
been  christened  as  soon  as  she  was  born.  But  she  was  not  sure, 
and  pouted  a  good  deal  at  the  chance  of  an  "  ugly  red  Carib  " 
being  better  off  than  she  was.  However,  all  assembled  duly  ; 
the  stately  son  of  the  forest,  now  transformed  into  a  footman  of 
Sir  Richard's,  was  standing  at  the  foni ;  the  service  was  half  per- 
formed when  a  heavy  sigh,  or  rather  groan,  made  all  eyes  turn, 
and  Ayacanora  sank  fainting  upon  Mrs.  Leigh's  bosom. 

She  was  carried  out,  and  to  a  neighboring  house  ;  and  when 
she  came  to  herself,  told  a  strange  story.  How,  as  she  was  stand* 
there  trying  to  recollect  whether  she  too  had  ever  been  baptized, 
the  church  seemed  to  grow  larger,  the  priest's  dress  richer  ;  the 
walls  were  covered  with  pictures,  and  above  the  altar,  in  jewelled 
robes,  stood  a  lady,  and  in  her  arms  a  babe.  Soft  music  sounded 
in  her  ears  ;  the  air  was  full  (on  that  she  insisted  much)  of  fragrant 
odor  which  filled  the  church  like  mist  ;  and  through  it  she  saw 
not  one,  but  many  Indians,  standing  by  the  font  ;  and  a  lady  held 
her  by  the  hand,  and  she  was  a  little  girl  again. 

And  after  many  questionings,  so  accurate  was  her  recollec- 
tion, not  only  of  the  scene,  but  of  the  building,  that  Yeo  pro- 
nounced— 

"  A  christened  woman  she  is,  madam,  if  Popish  christening  is 
Worth  calling  such,  and  has  seen  Indians  christened  too  in  the 


438  WESTWARD  Hot 

Catliedral  Church  at  Quito,  the  inside  whereof  I  know  well  enough, 
and  too  well,  for  I  sat  there  three  mortal  hours  in  a  San  Benito, 
to  hear  a  friar  preach  his  false  doctrines,  not  knowing  whether  I 
was  to  be  burnt  or  not  next  day." 

So  Ayacanora  went  home  to  Burough,  and  Raleigh  the  Indian 
to  Sir  Richard's  house.  The  entry  of  his  baptism  still  stands, 
crooked-lettered,  in  the  old  parchment  register  of  the  Bideford 
baptisms  for  1587-8— 

*'  Raleigh,  a  Winganditoian  :  March  26." 

His  name  occurs  once  more,  a  year  and  a  month  after-— 

*' Rawly,  a  Winganditoian,  April   1589." 

But  it  is  not  this  time  among  the  baptisms.  The  free  forest 
wanderer  has  pined  in  vain  for  his  old  deer-hunts  amid  the  fragrant 
cedar  woods,  and  lazy  paddlings  through  the  still  lagoons,  where 
water-lilies  sleep  beneath  the  shade  ^f  great  magnolias,  wreathed 
with  clustered  vines  ;  and  now  he  is  away  to  "  happier  hunting- 
grounds,"  and  all  that  is  left  of  him  below  sleeps  in  the  narrow 
town  churchyard,  blocked  in  with  dingy  houses,  whose  tenant^ 
will  never  waste  a  sigh  upon  the  Indian's  grave.  There  the  two 
entries  stand,  unto  this  day  ;  and  most  pathetic  they  have  seemed 
tome;  a  sort  of  emblem  and  first-fruits  of  the  sad  fate  of  that 
worn-out  Red  race,  to  whom,  civilization  came  too  late  to  save, 
but  not  too  late  to  hasten  their  decay. 

But  though  Amyas  lay  idle,  England  did  not.  That  spring 
saw  another  and  a  larger  colony  sent  out  by  Raleigh  to  Virginia, 
under  the  charge  of  one  John  White.  Raleigh  had  written  more 
than  once,  entreating  Amyas  to  take  the  command,  which  if  he 
had  done,  perhaps  the  United  States  had  begun  to  exist  twenty 
years  sooner  than  they  actually  did.  But  his  mother  had  bound  him 
by  a  solemn  promise  (and  who  can  wonder  at  her  for  asking,  or  at 
him  for  giving  it  ?)  to  wait  at  home  with  her  twelve  months,  at 
least  So,  instead  of  himself,  he  sent  five  hundred  pounds,  which 
I  suppose  are  in  Virginia  (virtually  at  least)  until  this  day  ;  for 
they  never  came  back  again  to  him. 

But  soon  came  a  sharper  trial  of  Amyas's  promise  to  his 
mother  ;  and  one  which  made  him,  for  the  'first  time  in  his  life, 
moody,  peevish,  and  restless,  at  the  thought  that  others  were 
fighting  Spaniards,  while  he  was  sitting  idle  at  home.  For  his 
whole  soul  was  filling  fast  with  sullen  malice  against  Don  Guzman. 
He  was  losing  the  "single  eye,"  and  his  whole  body  was  no  longer 
full  of  light.  He  had  entered  into  the  darkness  'in  which  every 
man  walks  who  hates  his  brother  ;  and  it  lay  upon  him  like  a 
black  shadow  day  and  night.  No  company,  too,  could  be  more  fit 
"to  darken  that  shadow  than  Salvation  Yeo's.  The  old  man  grew 
more  stern  in  his  fanaticism  day  by  day,  and  found  a  too  willing 
listener  in  his  master  ;  and  Mrs.  Leigh  was  (perhaps  for  the  first 


WMSZl^ARD  HOt  43<j 

And  last  time  in  her  life)  seriously  angry,  when  she  heard  the  two 
coolly  debating  whether  they  had  not  committed  a  grievous  sin  in 
not  Killing  the  Spanish  prisoners  on  board  the  galleon. 

It  must  be  said,  however  (as  the  plain  facts  set  down  in  this 
Dook  testify),  that  if  such  was  the  temper  of  Englishmen  at  that 
day,  the  Spaniards  had  done  a  good  deal  to  provoke  it  ;  and  were 
just  then  attempting  to  do  still  more. 

For  now  we  are  approaching  the  year  1588,  "  which  an  astron^ 
omer  of  Konigsberg,  above  a  hundred  years  before,  foretold  would 
be  an  admirable  year,  and  the  German  chronologers  presaged 
would  be  the  climacterical  year  of  the  world." 

The  prophecies  may  stand  for  what  they  are  worth  ;  but  they 
were  at  least  fulfilled.  That  year  was,  indeed,  the  climacterical 
year  of  the  world  ;  and  decided  once  and  for  all  the  fortunes  of 
the  European  nations,  and  of  the  whole  continent  of  America. 

No  wonder,  then,  if  (as  has  happened  in  each  great  crisis  of  the 
human  race)  some  awful  instinct  that  The  Day  of  the  Lord  was  at 
hand,  some  dim  feeling  that  there  was  war  in  heaven,  and  that 
the  fiends  of  darkness  and  the  angels  of  light  were  arrayed  against 
each  other  in  some  mighty  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  souls 
of  men,  should  have  tried  to  express  itself  irv  astrologic  dreams, 
and,  as  was  the  fashion  then  attributed  to  the  "  rulers  of  the 
•planetary  houses,"  some  sympathy  with  the  coming  world-tragedy. 
..  But,  for  the  wise,  there  needed  no  conjunction  of  planets  to  tell 
them  that  the  day  was  near  at  hand,  when  the  long  desultory  duel 
between  Spain  and  England  would  end,  once  and  for  all,  in  some 
great  death-grapple.  The  war,  as  yet,  had  been  confined  to  the 
Netherlands,  to  the  West  Indies,  and  the  coasts  and  isles  of 
-Africa  ;  to  the  quarters,  in  fact,  where  Spain  was  held  either  to 
have  -no  rights.,  or  to  have  forfeited  them  by  tyranny.  But  Spain 
itself  had  been  respected  by  England,  as  England  had  by  Spain  ; 
and  trade  to  Spanish  ports  went  on  as  usual,  till,  in  the  year  1585, 
the  Spaniard,  without  warning,  laid  an  embargo  on  all  English 
ships  coming  to  his  European  shores.  They  were  to  be  seized,  it 
seemed,  to  form  part  of  an  enormous  armament,  which  was  to 
attack  and  crush,  once  and  for  all — whom  ?  The  rebellious 
Netherlanders,  said  the  Spaniards  :  but  the  queen,  the  ministry, 
and,  when  it  was  just  not  too  late,  the  people  of  England,  thought 
otherwise.  England  was  the  destined  victim  ;  so,  instead  of 
negotiating,  in  order  to  avoid  fighting,  they  fought  in  order  to 
produce  negotiation.  Drake,  Frobisher,  and  Carlisle,  as  we  have 
seen,  swept  the  Spanish  Main  with  fire  and  sword,  stopping  the 
Indian  supplies  ;  while  Walsingham  (craftiest,  and  yet  most  honest 
of  mortals)  prevented,  by  some  mysterious  financial  operation,  the 
Venetian  merchants  from  repairing  the  Spaniards'  loss  by  a  loan  ; 
and  no  Armada  came  that  year. 

In  the  meanwhile,  the  Jesuits,  here  and  abroad,  made  no  secret, 
among  their  own  dupes,  of  the  real  objects  of  the  Spanish  arma- 
ment. The  impious  heretics, — the  Drakes  and  Raleighs,  Gren- 
,yUes.an<i  CaYe.n^.ishes»  Hawkinses  and  Frobishers,  who  had  dared 


440 


WESTWARD  HO! 


to  violate  that  hidden  sanctuary  of  just  half  the  globe,  which  tha 
pope  had  bestowed  on  the  defender  of  the  true  faith, — a  shameful 
ruin,  a  terrible  death  awaited  them,  when  their  sacrilegious  barks 
should  sink  beneath  the  thunder  of  Spanish  cannon,  blessed  by 
the  pope,  and  sanctified  with  holy  water  and  prayer  to  the  service 
of  "  God  and  his  mother."  Yes,  they  M^ould  fall,  and  England 
with  them.  The  proud  islanders,  who  had  dared  to  rebel  against 
St.  Peter,  and  to  cast  off  the  worship  of  "  Mary,"  should  bow 
their  necks  once  more  under  the  yoke  of  the  Gospel.  Their  so- 
called  queen,  illegitimate,  excommunicate,  contumacious,  the 
abettor  of  free-trade,  the  defender  of  the  Netherlands,  the  pillar  of 
false  doctrine  throughout  Europe,  should  be  sent  in  chains  across 
the  Alps,  to  sue  for  her  life  at  the  feet  of  the  injured  and  long-suf- 
fering father  of  mankind,  while  his  nominee  took  her  place  upon 
the  throne  which  she  had  long  since  forfeited  by  her  heresy. 

•'  What  nobler  work  ?  How  could  the  Church  of  God  be  more 
gloriously  propagated  ?  How  could  higher  merit  be  obtained  by 
faithful  Catholics  1  It  must  succeed.  Spain  was  invincible  in 
valor,  inexhaustible  in  wealth.  Heaven  itself  offered  them  an  op- 
portunity. They  had  nothing  now  to  fear  from  the  Turk,  for  they 
had  concluded  a  truce  with  him  ;  nothing  from  the  French,  for 
they  were  embroiled  in  civil  war.  The  heavens  themselves  had 
called  upon  Spain  to  fulfil  her  heavenly  mission,  and  restore  to 
the  Church's  crown  this  brightest  and  richest  of  her  lost  jewels. 
The  heavens  themselves  called  to  a  new  crusade.  The  saints, 
whose  altars  the  English  had  rifled  and  profaned,  called  them  to 
a  new  crusade.  The  Virgin  Queen  of  Heaven,  whose  boundless 
stores  of  grace  the  English  spurned,  called  them  to  a  new  crusade. 
Justly  incensed  at  her  own  wrongs  and  indignities,  that  '  ever- 

fracious  Virgin,  refuge  of  sinners,  and  mother  oPfair  love,  and 
oly  hope,'  adjured  by  their  knightly  honor,  all  valiant  cavaliers 
to  do  battle  in  her  cause  against  the  impious  harlot  who  assumed 
her  titles,  received  from  her  idolatrous  flatterers  the  homage  due 
-to  Mary  alone,  and  even  (for  Father  Parsons  had  asserted  it, 
therefore  it  must  be  true)  had  caused  her  name  to  be  substituted 
for  that  of  Mary  in  the  Litanies  of  the  Church.  Let  all  who  wore 
within  a  manly  heart,  without  a  manly  sword,  look  on  the  woes 
of  '  Mary,' — her  shame,  her  tears,  her  blushes,  her  heart  pierced 
through  with  daily  wounds,  from  heretic  tongues,  and  choose  be- 
tween her  and  Elizabeth  !  " 

So  said  Parsons,  Allen,  and  dozens  more  ;  and  said  more  than 
this,  too,  and  much  which  one  had  rather  not  repeat ;  and  were 
somewhat  surprised  and  mortified  to  find  that  their  hearers,  though 
they  granted  the  premises,  were  too  dull  or  carnal  to  arrive  at 
the  same  conclusion.  The  English  lay  Romanists,  almost  to  a 
man,  had  hearts  sounder  than  their  heads,  and,  howsoever  illogi' 
cally,  could  not  help  holding  to  the  strange  superstition  that,  be- 
ing Englishmen,  thev  were  bound  to  fig-ht  for  England.  So  the 
hapless  Jesuits,  who  had  been  boasting  for  years  past  that  the  per- 
•ecuted  faithful  throughout  the  island  would  rise  as  one  man  ta 


}VESTIVARD  nor  44 1 

fight  under  the  blessed  banner  of  the  pope  and  Spain,  found  that 
the  faithful,  like  Demas  of  old,  forsook  them  and  "went  after  this 
present  world  ;  "  having  no  objection,  of  course,  to  the  restoration 
of  Popery  :  but  preferring  some  more  comfortable  method  than  an 
invasion  which  would  inevitably  rob  them  of  their  ancestral  lands 
and  would  seat  needy  and  greedy  Castilians  in  their  old  country 
houses,  to  treat  their  tenants  as  they  had  treated  the  Indians  of 
Hispaniola,  and  them  as  they  had  treated  the  Caciques. 

But  though  the  hearts  of  men  in  that  ungodly  age  were  too  hard 
to  melt  at  the  supposed  woes  of  the  Mary  who  reigned  above,  and 
too  dull  to  turn  rebels  and  traitors  for  the  sake  of  those  thrones 
and  principalities  in  supra-lunar  spheres  which  might  be  in  her 
gift :  yet  there  was  a  Mary  who  reigned  (or  ought  to  reign)  below, 
whose  woes  (like  her  gifts)  were  somewhat  more  palpable  to  the  car- 
nal sense.  A  Mary  who,  having  every  comfort  and  luxury  (includ- 
ing hounds  and  horses)  found  for  her  by  the  English  Government, 
at  an  expense  which  would  be  now  equal  to  some  twenty  thousand 
a  year,  could  afford  to  employ  the  whole  of  her  jointure  as  Queen 
Dowager  of  France  (probably  equal  to  fifty  thousand  a  year  more), 
in  plotting  the  destruction  of  the  said  government,  and  the  murder 
of  its  queen  ;  a  Marv  who,  if  she  prospered  as  she  ought,  might 
have  dukedoms,  ana  earldoms,  fair  lands  and  castles  to  bestow  on 
her  faithful  servants  ;  a  Mary,  finally  who  contrived  by  means  of 
an  angel  face,  a  serpent  tongue,  and  a  heart  (as  she  said  herself) 
as  hard  as  a  diamond,  to  make  every  weak  man  fall  in  love  with 
her,  and,  what  was  worse,  fancy  more  or  less  that  she  was  in  love 
with  him. 

Of  her  the  Jesuits  were  not  unmindful  ;  and  found  it  conveni- 
ent, indeed,  to  forget  awhile  the  sorrows  of  the  Queen  of  Heaven 
in  those  of  the  Queen  of  Scots.  Not  that  they  cared  much  for  those 
sorrows  ;  but  they  were  an  excellent  stock-in-trade.  She  was  a 
Romanist ;  she  was  "  beautiful  and  unfortunate,"  a  virtue  which, 
like  charity,  hides  the  multitude  of  sins  ;  and  therefore  she  was  a 
convenient  card  to  play  in  the  great  game  of  Rome  against  the 
Queen  and  the  people  of  England  ;  and  played  the  poor  card  was, 
till  it  got  torn  up  by  over-using.  Into  her  merits  or  demerits  I  do 
not  enter  deeply  here.     Let  her  rest  in  peace. 

To  all  of  which  the  people  of  England  made  a  most  practical 
and  terrible  answer.  From  the  highest  noble  to  the  lowest  peas- 
ant, arose  one  simultaneous  plebiscitum  :  "  We  are  tired  of  these 
seventeen  years  of  chicanery  and  terror.  This  woman  must  die  : 
or  the  commonweal  of  England  perish  !  "  We  all  know  which  of 
the  two  alternatives  was  chosen. 

All  Europe  stood  aghast  :  but  rather  with  astonishment  at  Eng- 
lish audacity,  than  with  horror  at  English  wickedness.  Mary's 
own  French  kinsfolk  had  openly  given  her  up  as  too  bad  to  be  ex- 
cused, much  less  assisted.  Her  own  son  blustered  a  little  to  the 
English  ambassador ;  for  the  majesty  of  kings  was  invaded  : 
whereon  Walsingham  said  in  open  council,  that  "  the  aueen  should 
lend  him  a  couple  of  hounds,  and  that  would  set  all  right."     Which 


44 2  ^^^fSTfVAIiP  HO! 

sage  advice  (being-  acted  on,  and  some  deer  sent  over  and  above). 

was  so  successful  that  the  pious  mourner,  having  run  off  (Randolph 
says,  like  a  baby  to  see  the  deer  in  their  cart),  returned  for  answer 
that  he  would  "thereafter  depend  wholly  upon  her  Majesty,  and 
serve  her  fortune  against  all  the  world  ;  and  that  he  only  wanted 
now  two  of  her  Majestv's  yeoman  prickers,  and  a  couple  of  her 
grooms  of  the  deer."  The  Spaniard  was  not  sorry  on  the  whole 
for  the  catastrophe  ;  for  all  that  had  kept  him  from  conquering 
England  long  ago  was  the  fear  lest,  after  it  was  done,  he  might 
have  had  to  put  the  crown  thereof  on  Mary's  head,  instead  of  his 
own.  But  Mary's  death  was  as  convenient  a  stalking-horse  to  him 
as  to  the  pope  ;  and  now  the  Armada  was  coming  in  earnest. 

Elizabeth  began  negotiating  ;  but  fancy  not  that  she  does  noth- 
ing more,  as  the  following  letter  testifies,  written  about  Midsum- 
mer, 1587. 

F,  Drake  to  Captain  Amy  as  Leigh.     This  with  haste. 

"  Dear  Lad, 

"  As  I  said  to  her  most  glorious  Majesty,  I  say  to  you  now. 
There  are  two  ways  of  facing  an  enemy.  The  one  to  stand  off, 
and  cry,  •  Try  that  again  and  I'll  strike  thee  '  ;  the  other  to  strike 
him  first,  and  then,  '  Try  that  at  all,  and  I'll  strike  thee  again.'  Of 
which  latter  counsel  her  Majesty  so  far  approves,  that  I  go  forth- 
with (tell  it  not  in  Gath)  down  the  coast,  to  singe  the  king  of 
Spain's  beard  (so  I  termed  it  to  her  Majesty,  she  laughing),  in 
which  if  I  leave  so  much  as  a  fishing-boat  afloat  from  the  Groyne 
unto  Cadiz,  it  will  not  be  with  my  good  will,  who  intend  that  if  he 
come  this  year,  he  shall  come  by  swimming  and  not  by  sailing. 
So  if  you  are  still  the  man  I  have  known  you,  bring  a  good  ship 
round  to  Plymouth  within  the  month,  and  away  with  me  for  hard 
blows  and  hard  money,  the  feel  of  both  of  which  you  know  pretty 
well  by  now. 

"Thine  lovingly, 

'•  F.  Drake." 

Amyas  clutched  his  locks  over  this  letter,  and  smoked  more 
tobacco  the  day  he  got  it  than  had  ever  before  been  consumed  at 
once  in  England  But  he  kept  true  to  his  promise ;  and  this  was 
his  reply  : — 

"  Amyas  Leigh  to  the  Worshipful  Sir  F.  Drake,  Admiral  of  her 
Majesty  s  Fleet  in  Plymouth. 

"  Most  honored  Sir, 

"A  magician  keeps  me  here,  in  bilboes  for  which  you  have  no 
picklock  ;  namely,  a  mother  who  forbids.  The  loss  is  mine  :  but 
Antichrist  I  can  fight  any  year  (for  he  will  not  die  this  bout,  nor 


WESTWARD  HO 


44J 


the  next),  while  my  mother — but  I  will  not  trouble  your  patience 
more  than  to  ask  from  you  to  get  me  news,  if  you  can,  from  anv 
prisoners  of  one  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de 
Soto  ;  whether  he  is  in  Spain  or  in  the  Indies  ;  and  what  the  villain 
does,  and  where  he  is  to  be  found.  This  only  I  entreat  of  you,  and 
so  remain  behind  with  a  heavy  heart. 

"  Yours  to  command  in  all  else,  and  I 
would  to  Heaven,  in  this  also, 

"  Amyas  Leigh." 

I  am  sorry  to  have  to  say,  that  after  having  thus  obeyed  his 
mother.  Master  Amyas,  as  men  are  too  apt  to  do,  revenged  him- 
self on  her  by  being  more  and  more  cross  and  disagreeable.  But 
his  temper  amended  much,  when,  a  few  months  after,  Drake 
returned  triumphant,  having  destroyed  a  hundred  sail  in  Cadiz 
alone,  taken  three  great  galleons  with  immense  wealth  on  board, 
burnt  the  small  craft  all  along  the  shore,  and  offered  battle  to 
Santa  Cruz  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tagus.  After  which  it  is  unneces- 
sary to  say,  that  the  Armada  was  put  off  for  yet  another  year. 

This  news,  indeed,  gave  Amyas  little  comfort ;  for  he  merely, 
observed,  grumbling,  that  Drake  had  gone  and  spoiled  everybody; 
else's  sport  :  but  what  cheered  him  was  news  from  Drake  that  Don 
Guzman  had  been  heard  of  from  the  Captain  of  one  of  the  galleons  ; 
that  he  was  high  in  favor  in  Spain,  and  commandant  of  spldier^ 
on  board  one  of  the  largest  of  the  Marquis's  ships. 

And  when  Amyas  heard  that,  a  terrible  joy  took  possession  of 
him.  When  the  Armada  came,  as  come  it  would,  he  should  meet 
his  enemy  at  last !  He  could  wait  now  patiently  :  if — and  he 
shuddered  at  himself,  as  he  found  himself  in  the  very  act  of  breath- 
ing a  prayer  that  Don  Guzman  might  not  die  before  that  meeting. 

In  the  meanwhile,  rumor  flew  thousand-tongued  through  th.Q 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  ;  of  vast  preparations  going  on  in 
Spain  and  Italy  ;  of  timber  felled  long  before  for  some  such  pur- 
pose, brought  down  to  the  sea,  and  sawn  out  for  shipbuilding  ;  of 
casting  of  cannon,  and  drilling  of  soldiers  ;  of  ships  in  hundreds 
•collecting  at  Lisbon  ;  of  a  crusade  preached  by  Pope  Sixtus  the 
Fifth,  who  had  bestowed  the  kingdom  of  England  on  the  Spaniard^ 
to  be  enjoyed  by  him  as  vassal  tributary  to  Rome  ;  of  a  million  of 
gold  to  be  paid  by  the  pope,  one-half  down  at  once,  the  other  half 
when  London  was  taken  ;  of  Cardinal  Allen  writing  and  printing 
busily  in  the  Netherlands,  calling  on  all  good  Englishmen  to  carry 
out,  by  rebelling  against  Elizabeth,  the  Bull  of  Sixtus  the  Fifth, 
said  (I  blush  to  repeat  it)  to  have  been  dictated  by  the  Holy  Ghost.; 
of  Inquisitors  getting  ready  fetters  and  devil's  engines  of  all  sorts  ; 
of  princes  and  noblemen,  flocking  from  all  quarters,  gentlemen 
selling  their  private  estates  to  fit  out  ships  ;  how  the  Prince  of  Me> 
lito,  the  Marquess  of  Burgrave,  Vespasian  Gonzaga,  John  Medicis, 
Amadas  of  Savoy,  in  short,  the  illegitimate  sons  of  all  the  southern 
princes,  having  no  lands  of  their  own,  were  coming  to  find  that 
necessary  of  life  in  this  pleasant  little  wheat-garden.     Nay,  the 


444  WESTWARD  HO  t 

Duke  of  Medina  Sidonia  had  already  engaged  Mount-Edgecombe 
for  himself,  as  the  fairest  jewel  of  the  south  ;  which  when  gooii 
old  Sir  Richard  Edgecombe  heard,  he  observed  quietly,  that  in 
1555  he  had  the  pleasure  of  receiving  at  his  table  at  one  time  the 
admirals  of  England,  Spain,  and  the  Netherlands,  and  therefore 
had  experience  in  entertaining  Dons  ;  and  made  preparations  for 
the  visit  by  filling  his  cellars  with  gunpowder,  with  a  view  to  a 
house-warming  and  feu-de-joie  on  the  occasion.  But  as  old  Fuller 
says,  "The  bear  was  not  yet  killed,  and  Medina  Sidonia  might 
have  catched  a  great  cold,  had  he  no  other  clothes  to  wear  than 
the  skin  thereof." 

So  flew  rumor,  false  and  true,  till  poor  John  Bull's  wits  were 
well-nigh  turned  :  but  to  the  very  last,  after  his  lazy  fashion,  he 
persuaded  himself  that  it  would  all  come  right  somehow  ;  that  it 
was  too  great  news  to  be  true  ;  that  if  it  was  true,  the  expedition 
was  only  meant  for  the  Netherlands;  and,  in  short,  sat  quietly 
over  his  beef  and  beer  for  many  a  day  after  the  French  king  had 
sent  him  fair  warning,  and  the  queen,  the  ministry,  and  the  ad- 
mirals had  been  assuring  him  again  and  again  that  he,  and  not 
the  Dutchman,  was  the  destined  prey  of  this  great  flight  of  raven- 
ous birds. 

At  last  the  Spaniard,  in  order  that  there  should  be  no  mistake 
about  the  matter,  kindly  printed  a  complete  bill  of  the  play,  to  be 
seen  still  in  Van  Meteran,  for  the  comfort  of  all  true  Catholics, 
and  confusion  of  all  pestilent  heretics  ;  which  document,  of  course, 
the  seminary  priests  used  to  enforce  the  duty  of  helping  the  in- 
vaders, and  the  certainty  of  their  success  ;  and  from  their  hands 
it  soon  passed  into  those  of  the  devout  ladies,  who  were  not  very 
likely  to  keep  it  to  themselves  ;  till  John  Bull  himself  found  his 
daughters  buzzing  over  it  with  very  pale  faces  (as  young  ladies 
well  might  who  had  no  wish  to  follow  the  fate  of  the  damsels  of 
Antwerp),  and  condescending  to  run  his  eye  through  it,  discov- 
ered, what  all  the  rest  of  Europe  had  known  for  months  past,  that 
he  was  in  a  very  great  scrape. 

Well  it  was  for  England  then,  that  her  Tudor  sovereigns  had 
compelled  every  man  (though  they  kept  up  no  standing  army)  te 
be  a  trained  soldier.  Well  it  was  that  Elizabeth,  even  in  those 
dangerous  days  of  intrigue  and  rebellion,  had  trusted  her  people 
enough,  not  only  to  leave  them  their  weapons,  but  (what  we  for* 
sooth,  in  these  more  "free"  and  "  liberal"  days  dare  not  do)  to 
teach  them  how  to  use  them.  Well  it  was,  that  by  careful  legis- 
lation for  the  comfort  and  employment  of  "the  masses"  (term 
then,  thank  God,  unknown),  she  had  both  won  their  hearts,  and 
kept  their  bodies  in  fighting  order.  Well  it  was  that,  acting  as 
fully  as  Napoleon  did  on  "la  carri^re  ouverte  aux  talens,"  she 
had  raised  to  the  highest  posts  in  her  councils,  her  army,  and  her 
navy,  men  of  business,  who  had  not  been  ashamed  to  buy  and  sell 
as  merchants  and  adventurers.  Well  for  England,  in  a  word, 
that  Elizabeth  had  pursued  for  thirty  years  a  very  different  course 
Irom  that  which   we  have  been  pursuing  for  the  last  thirty,  with 


WESTWARD  HO  t 


445 


one  exception,  namely  the  leaving  as  much  as  possible  to  private 
enterprise. 

There  we  have  copied  her :  would  to  Heaven  that  we  had  in 
some  other  matters  !  It  is  the  fashion  now  to  call  her  a  despot : 
but  unless  every  monarch  is  to  be  branded  with  that  epithet  whose 
power  is  not  as  circumscribed  as  Queen  Victoria's  is  now,  we 
ought  rather  to  call  her  the  most  popular  sovereign,  obeyed  of 
their  own  free  will  by  the  freest  subjects  which  England  has  ever 
seen  ;  confess  the  Armada  fight  to  have  been  as  great  a  moral 
triumph  as  it  was  a  political  one  ;  and  (now  that  our  late  boasting 
is  a  little  silenced  by  Crimean  disasters)  inquire  whether  we  have 
not  something  to  learn  from  those  old  Tudor  times,  as  to  how  to 
choose  officials,  how  to  train  a  people,  and  how  to  defend  a 
country. 

To  return  to  the  thread  of  :ny  story. 

January  1587-8  had  wcU-nigh  run  through,  before  Sir  Richard 
Grenvile  made  his  appearance  on  the  streets  of  Bideford.  He  had 
been  appointed  in  November  one  of  the  council  of  war  for  provid- 
ing for  the  safety  of  the  nation,  and  the  West  Country  had  seen 
nothing  of  him  since.  But  one  morning,  just  before  Christmas, 
his  stately  figure  darkened  the  old  bay-window  at  Burrough,  and 
Amyas  rushed  out  to  meet  him,  and  bring  him  in,  and  ask  what 
news  from  Court. 

"All  good  news,  dear  lad,  and  dearer  Madam.  The  queen 
shows  the  spirit  of  a  very  Boadicea  or  Semiramis  ;  ay,  a  very 
Scythian  Tomyris,  and  if  she  had  the  Spaniard  before  her  now, 
would  verily,  for  aught  I  know,  feast  him  as  the  Scythian  queen 
did  Cyrus,  with  '  Satia  te  sanguine,  quod  sitisti. 

"  I  trust  her  most  merciful  spirit  is  not  so  changed  already,'* 
said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  Well,  if  she  would  not  do  it,  I  would,  and  ask  pardon  after- 
wards, as  Raleigh  did  about  the  rascals  at  Smerwick,  whom 
Amyas  knows  of.  Mrs.  Leigh,  these  are  times  in  which  mercy 
is  cruelty.  Not  England  alone,  but  the  world,  the  Bible,  the 
Gospel  itself,  is  at  stake  ;  and  we  must  do  terrible  things,  lest  we 
suffer  more  terrible  ones." 

"God  will  take  care^of  world  and  Bible  better  than  any  cruelty 
of  ours,  dear  Sir  Richard." 

"  Nay,  but,  Mrs.  Leigh,  we  must  help  Him  to  take  care  of 
them  !     If  those  Smerwick  Spaniards  had  not  been " 

"  The  Spaniard  would  not  have  been  exasperated  into  invading 
us." 

"And  we  should  not  have  had  this  chance  of  crushing  him 
once  and  for  all  :  but  the  quarrel  is  of  older  standing,  Madam,  eh. 
Amyas  "i  Amyas,  has  Raleigh  written  to  you  of  late  .''  " 

"  Not  a  word,  and  I  wonder  why." 

"  Well  ;  no  wonder  at  that,  if  you  knew  how  he  has  been 
laboring.  The  wonder  is,  whence  he  got  the  knowledge  where- 
with to  labor  ;  for  he  never  saw  sea-work  to  my  remembrance." 

"  Never  saw  a  shot  fired  bv  sea.  except  ours   at  Smerwick,  and 


446  WESTWARD  HO  t 

that  brush  with  the  Spaniards  in  1579,  when  he  sailed  for  Virginia 
with  Sir  Humphrey  ;  and  he  was  a  mere  crack  then." 

''  So  you  consider  him  as  your  pupil,  eh  ?  But  he  learnt  enough 
in  the  Netherland  wars,  and  in  Ireland  too,  if  not  of  the  strength 
of  ships,  yet  still  of  the  weakness  of  land  forces  ;  and  would  you 
believe  it,  the  man  has  twisted  the  whole  council  round  his  finger, 
and  made  them  give  up  the  land  defences  to  the  naval  ones.*  " 

"  Quite  right  he,  and  wooden  walls  against  stone  ones  forever  ! 
But  as  for  twisting,  he  would  persuade  Satan,  if  he  got  him  alone 
for  half  an  hour." 

"  I  wish  he  would  sail  for  Spain  then,  just  now,  and  try  the 
powers  of  his  tongue,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  But  are  we  to  have  the  honor,  really  ?  " 

"  We  are,  lad.  There  were  many  in  the  council  who  were  for 
disputing  the  landing  on  shore,  and  said — which  I  do  not  deny — 
that  the  'prentice  boys  of  London  could  face  the  bluest  blood  in 
Spain.  But  Raleigh  argued  (following  my  Lord  Burleigh  in  that) 
that  we  differed  trom  the  Low  Countries,  and  all  other  lands,  in 
that  we  had  not  a  castle  or  town  throughout,  which  would  stand  a 
ten  days'  siege,  and  that  our  ramparts,  as  he  well  said,  were,  after 
all,  only  a  body  of  men.  So,  he  argued,  as  long  as  the  enemy  has 
power  to  land  where  he  will,  prevention,  rather  than  cure,  is  our 
only  hope  ;  and  that  belongs  to  the  office,  not  of  an  army,  but  of  a 
fleet.     So  the  fleet  was  agreed  on,  and  a  fleet  we  shall  have." 

"  Then  here  is  his  health,  the  health  of  a  true  friend  to  all  bold 
mariners,  and  myself  in  particular  !     But  where  is  he  now  ?  " 

"  Coming  here  to-morrow,  as  I  hope — for  he  left  London  with 
me,  and  so  dov/n  by  us  into  Cornwall,  to  drill  the  train-bands,  as 
he  is  bound  to  do,  being  Seneschal  of  tJie  Duchies  and  Lieutenant- 
General  of  the  county." 

"  Besides  Lord  Warden  of  the  Stanneries  !  How  the  man 
thrives  ! "  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  How  the  man  deserves  to  thrive  !  "  said  Amyas  ;  "  but  wha< 
are  we  to  do  ?  " 

"  That  is  the  rub.     I  would  fain  stay  and  fight  the  Spaniards." 

"  So  would  I ;  and  will." 

"  But  he  has  other  plans  in  his  head  for  us. 

*'  We  can  make  our  own  plans  without  his  help. 

"  Heyday,  Amyas  !  How  long  "i  When  did  he  ask  you  to  do  ^ 
thing  yet  and  you  refuse  him  t  " 

"  Not  often,  certainly  :  but  Spaniards  I  must  fight." 

"  Well,  so  must  I,  boy  :  but  I  have  given  a  sort  of  promise  to 
nim,  nevertheless." 

"  Not  for  me  too,  I  hope  ?  " 

"  No  :  he  will  extract  that  himself  when  he  comes  ;  you  must 
come  and  sup  to-morrow,  and  talk  it  over." 

"  Be  talked  over,  rather.  What  chestnut  does  the  cat  want  us 
monkeys  to  pull  out  of  the  fire  for  him  now,  I  wonder  ?  " 

"  Sir  Richard  Grenvile  is  hardly  accustomed  to  be  called  a 
monkey,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 


WESTWARD  HO  r  4^75* 

"  I  meant  ho  harm  ;  and  his  worship  knows  it,  rione^  better  : 
but  where  is  Raleigh  going  to  send  us,  with  a  murrain  ?  " 

"  To  Virginia.  The  settlers  must  have  help  :  and,  as  I  trust  in 
God,  we  shall  be  back  again  long  before  this  armament  can  bestir 
itself." 

So  Raleigh  came,  saw,  and  conquered.  Mrs.  Leigh  consented 
to  Amyas's  going  (for  his  twelvemonth  would  be  over  ere  the  fleet 
could  start)  upon  so  peaceful  and  useful  an  errand  ;  and  the  next 
five  months  were  spent  in  continual  labor  on  the  part  of  Amyas 
and  Grenvile,  till  seven  ships  were  all  but  ready  in  Bideford  river, 
the  admiral  whereof  was  Amyas  Leig:h. 

But  that  fleet  was  not  destined  ever  to  see  the  shores  of  the 
New  World  :  it  had  nobler  work  to  do  (if  Americans  will  forgive 
the  speech)  than  even  settling  the  United  States. 

It  was  in  the  long  June  evenings,  in  the  year  1588  ;  Mrs.  Leigh 
sat  in  the  open  window,  busy  at  her  needle-work  ;  Ayacanora  sat 
opposite  to  her,  on  the  seat  of  the  bay,  trying  diligently  to  read 
"The  History  of  the  Nine  Worthies,"  and  stealing  a  glance  every 
now  and  then  towards  the  garden,  where  Amyas  stalked  up  and 
down  as  he  had  used  to  do  in  happier  days  gone  by.  But  his 
brow  was  contracted  now,  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground,  as  he 
plodded  backwards  and  forwards,  his  hands  behind  his  back,  and 
a  huge  cigar  in  his  mouth,  the  wonder  of  the  little  boys  of  Northam, 
who  peeped  in  stealthily  as  they  passed  the  iron-work  gates,  to 
see  the  back  of  the  famous  fire-breathing  captain  who  had  sailed 
round  the  world  and  been  in  the  country  of  headless  men  and 
flying  dragons,  and  then  popped  back  their  heads  suddenly,  as  he 
turned  toward  them  in  his  walk.  And  Ayacanora  looked,  and  looked 
with  no  less  admiration  than  the  urchins  at  the  gate  :  but  she  got 
no  more  of  an  answering  look  from  Amyas  than  they  did  ;  for  his 
head  was  full  of  calculations  of  tonage  and  stowage,  of  salt  pork 
and  ale-barrels,  and  the  packing  of  tools  and  seeds  ;  for  he  had 
promised  Raleigh  to  do  his  best  for  the  new  colony,  and  he  was 
doing  it  with  all  his  might  ;  so  Ayacanora  looked  back  again  to 
her  book,  and  heaved  a  deep  sigh.  It  was  answered  by  one  from 
Mrs.  Leigh. 

"We  are  a  melancholy  pair,  sweet  chuck,"  said  the  fair  widow. 
"  What  is  my  maid  sighing  about,  there  ?  " 

"Because  I  cannot  make  out  the  long  words,"  said  Ayacanora, 
telling  a  very  white  fib. 
-'"Is' that  all  ?     Come  to  me,  and  I  will  tell  you." 

Ayacanora  moved  over  to  her,  and  sat  down  at  her  feet. 

"  H— e,  he,  r — o,  ro,  i — c — a— 1,  heroical,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh. 

"  But  what  does  that  mean  .'*  " 

"  Grand,  good,  and  brave,  like " 

Mrs.  Leigh  was  about  to  have  said  the  name  of  one  who  was 
l6st  to  her  on  earth.  His  fair  angelic  face  hung  opposite  upon 
the  wall.  She  paused  unable  to  pronounce  his  name  ;  and  lifted 
up  her  eyes,  and  gazed  on  the  portrait,  and  breathed  a  prayer 
between  closed  lips,  and  drooped  her  head  again. 


448  WESTWAI^D  HO! 

Her  pupil  caught  at  the  pause,  and  filled  it  up  for  herself— ~ 

"  Like  him  ?  "  and  she  turned  her  head  quickly  toward  the 
window. 

"  Yes,  like  him,  too,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh,  with  a  half-smile  at  the 
gesture.  "  Now,  mind  your  book.  Maidens  must  not  look  out  oi 
the  window  in  school  hours." 

"  Shall  I  ever  be  an  English  girl  ?  "  asked  Ayacanora. 

"  You  are  one  now,  sweet ;  your  father  was  an  English  gentle- 
man." 

Amyas  looked  in,  and  saw  the  two  sitting  together. 

"  You  seem  quite  merry  there,"  said  he. 

"  Come  in,  then,  and  be  merry  with  us." 

He  entered,  and  sat  down  ;  while  Ayacanora  fixed  her  eyes 
most  steadfastly  on  her  book. 

"  Well,  how  goes  on  the  reading  ?  "  said  he  ;  and  then,  without 
waiting  for  an  answer — "  We  shall  be  ready  to  clear  out  this  day 
week,  mother,  I  do  believe  ;  that  is,  if  the  hatchets  are  made  in 
time  to  pack  them." 

"  I  hope  they  will  be  better  than  the  last,"  said  Mrs.  Leigh.  "  It 
seems  to  me  a  shameful  sin  to  palm  off  on  poor  ignorant  savages 
goods  which  w^e  should  consider  worthless  for  ourselves." 

"  Well,  its  not  over  fair  :  but  still,  they  are  a  sight  better  than 
they  ever  had  before.  An  old  hoop  is  better  than  a  deer's  bone, 
as  Ayacanora  knows, — eh  "i  " 

"  I  don't  know  anything  about  it,"  said  she,  who  was  always 
nettled  at  the  least  allusion  to  her  past  wild  life.  "  I  am  an  Eng- 
lish girl  now,  and  all  that  is  gone — I  forget  it," 

"  Forget  it  ?  "  said  he,  teasing  her  for  want  of  something  better 
to  do.  "  Should  not  you  like  to  sail  with  us,  now,  and  see  the  Indi- 
ans in  the  forest  once  again  ?  " 

"  Sail  with  you  ?  "  and  she  looked  up  eagerly. 

"  There  !  I  knew  it  !  She  would  not  be  four-and-twenty  hours 
ashore,  but  she  would  be  off  into  the  woods  again,  bow  in  hand, 
like  any  runaway  nymph,  and  we  should  never  see  her  more." 

"  It  is  false,  bad  man  !  "  and  she  burst  into  violent  tears,  and  hid 
her  face  in  Mrs.  Leigh's  lap. 

"Amyas,  Amyas,  why  do  you  tease  the  poor  fatherless 
thing  ?  " 

"  1  was  only  jesting,  I'm  sure,"  said  Amyas,  like  a  repentant 
schoolboy.  "  Don't  cry  now,  don't  cry,  my  child,  see  here,"  and 
he  began  fumbling  in  his  pockets  ;  "  see  what  I  bought  of  a  chap- 
man in  town  to-day,  for  you,  my  maid,  indeed,  I  did." 

And  out  he  pulled  some  smart  kerchief  or  other,  which  had 
taken  his  sailor's  fancy. 

"  Look  at  it  now,  blue,  and  crimson,  and  green,  like  any  par- 
rot !  "  and  he  held  it  out. 

She  looked  round  sharply,  snatched  it  out  of  his  hand,  and  tore 
it  to  shreds. 

"  I  hate  it,  and  I  hate  you  ! "  and  she  sprang  up  and  darted  out 
of  the  room. 


WESTWARD  HO!  445 

'•  Oh,  boy,  boy  !  "  said  Mrs.  Leigh,  "  will  you  kill  that  poof 
child  ?  It  matters  little  for  an  old  keart  like  mine,  which  has  but 
one  or  two  chords  left  whole,  how  soon  it  be  broken  altogether  ; 
but  a  young  heart  is  one  of  God's  precious  treasures,  Amyas,  and 
suffers  many  a  long  pang  in  the  breaking  ;  and  woe  to  them  whc 
despise  Christ's  little  ones  !  " 
"  Break  your  heart,  mother  ?  " 

"  Never  mind  my  heart,  dear  son  ;  yet  how  can  you  break  it 
more  surely  than  by  tormenting  one  whom  I  love,  because  she 
loves  you  ?  " 

"  Tut  !  play,  mother,  and  maids'  tempers.  But  how  can  I  break 
your  heart  ?  What  have  I  done  ?  Have  I  not  given  up  going 
again  to  the  West  Indies  for  your  sake  ?  Have  I  not  given  up 
gomg  to  Virginia,  and  now  again  settled  to  go  after  all,  just  be- 
cause you  commanded  ?  Was  it  not  your  will  ?  Have  I  not 
obeyed  you,  mother,  mother  ?  I  will  stay  at  home  now,  if  you 
will.  I  would  rather  rust  here  on  land,  I  vow  I  would,  than  grieve 
you "  and  he  threw  himself  at  his  mother's  knees. 

"  Have  I  asked  you  not  to  go  to  Virginia  .?  No,  dear  boy, 
though  every  thought  of  a  fresh  parting  seems  to  crack  some  new 
fibre  within  me,  you  must  go  !  It  is  your  calling.  Yes  ;  you  were 
not  sent  into  the  world  to  amuse  me,  but  to  work.  I  have  had 
pleasure  enough  of  you,  my  darling,  for  many  a  year,  and  too 
much,  perhaps  ;  till  I  shrank  from  lending  you  to  the  Lord.  But 
He  must  have  you.  .  .  .  It  is  enough  for  the  poor  old  widow 
to  know  that  her  boy  is  what  he  is,  and  to  forget  all  her  anguish 
day  by  day,  for  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into  the  world.  But, 
Amyas,  Amyas,  are  you  so  blind  as  not  to  see  that  Ayaca- 
nora " 

"  Don't  talk  about  her,  poor  child.     Talk  about  yourself." 

"  How  long  have  I  been  worth  talking  about  .''  No,  Amyas, 
you  must  see  it ;  and  if  you  will  not  see  it  now,  you  will  see  it  one 
clay  in  some  sad  and  fearful  prodigy  ;  for  she  is  not  one  to  die 
tamely.     She  loves  you,  Amyas,  as  a  women  only  can  love." 

"  Loves  me  ?  Well,  of  course.  I  found  her,  and  brought  her 
home  ;  and  I  don't  deny  she  may  think  that  she  owes  me  somewhat 
-'though  it  was  no  more  than  a  Christian  man's  duty.  But  as  for 
her  caring  much  for  me,  mother,  you  measure  every  one  else's 
tenderness  by  your  own." 

"Think  that  she  owes  you  somewhat?  Silly  boy,  this,  is  not 
gratitude,  but  a  deeper  affection,  which  may  be  more  heavenly 
than  gratitude,  as  it  may,  too,  become  a  horrible  cause  of  ruin.  It 
rests  with  you,  Amyas,  which  of  the  two  it  will  be." 

"  You  are  in  earnest  ?  " 

"  Have  I  the  heart  or  the  time  to  jest  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  of  course  not  ;  but,  mother,  I  thought  it  was  not  comely 
for  women  to  fall  in  love  with  men  ?  " 

"  Not  comely,  at  least,  to  confess  their  love  to  men.  But  she 
has  never  done  that,  Amyas  ;  not  even  by  a  look  or  a  tone  o{ 
Toice,  though  I  have  watched  her  for  months." 


450 


WESTWARD  HO! 


"  To  be  sure,  she  is  as  demure  as  any  cat  when  I  am  in  the  way. 
I  only  wonder  how  you  found  it  out." 

"Ah,"  said  she,  smiling  sadly,  "even  in  the  saddest  woman's 
soul  there  linger  snatches  of  old  music,  odors  of  flowers  long  dead 
and  turned  to  dust — pleasant  ghosts,  which  still  keep  her  mind  at- 
tuned to  that  which  may  be  in  others,  though  in  her  never  more  ; 
♦.ill  she  can  hear  her  own  wedding-hymn  re-echoed  in  the  tones  oi 
every  girl  who  loves,  and  sees  her  own  wedding-torch  re-lighted 
in  the  eyes  of  every  bride." 

"You  would  not  have  me  marry  her  ?  "  asked  blunt,  practical 
Amyas. 

"God  knows  what  I  would  have — I  know  not;  I  see  neither 
your  path  nor  my  own — no,  not  after  weeks  and  months  of  prayer. 
All  th'Vigs  beyond  are  wrapped  in  mist ;  and  what  will  be,  I  know 
not,  save  that  whatever  else  is  wrong,  mercy  at  least  is  right." 

"  I'd  sail  to-morrow,  if  I  could.  As  for  marrying  her,  mother — 
her  birth,  mind  me " 

"  Ah,  boy,  boy  !  Are  you  God,  to  vi?it  the  sins  of  the  parents 
upon  the  children  ?  " 

"  Not  that.  I  don't  mean  that ;  but  I  mean  this,  that  she  is  half 
a  Spaniard,  mother ;  and  I  cannot  ! — Her  blood  may  be  as  blue 
as  King  Philip's  own,  but  it  is  Spanish  still  !  I  cannot  bear  the 
thought  that  my  children  should  have  in  their  veins  one  drop  of 
that  poison." 

"  Amyas  !  Amyas  !  "  interrupted  she,  "  is  this  not,  too,  visiting 
the  parents'  sins  on  the  children  .'' " 

"Not  a  whit  ;  it  is  common  sense, — she  must  have  the  taint  of 
their  bloodthirsty  humor.  She  has  it — I  have  seen  it  in  her  again 
and  again,  I  have  told  you,  have  I  not  ?  Can  I  forget  the  look 
of  her  eyes  as  she  stood  over  that  galleon's  captain,  with  the 
smoking  knife  in  her  hand. — Ugh  !  And  she  is  not  tamed  yet,  as 
you  can  see,  and  never  will  be  : — not  that  I  care,  except  for  her 
own  sake,  poor  thing  !  " 

"Cruel  boy  !  to  impute  as  a  blame  to  the  poor  child,  not  only 
the  errors  of  her  training,  but  the  verv  madness  of  the  love  !  " 

"Of  her  love.?" 

"Of  what  else,  blind  buzzard  ?  From  the  moment  that  you  told 
me  the  story  of  that  captain's  death,  I  knew  what  was  in  her 
heart — and  thus  it  is  that  vou  requite  her  for  having  saved  your 
life  !  " 

"  Umph  !  that  is  one  word  too  much,  mother.  If  you  don't  want 
to  send  me  crazy,  don't  put  the  thing  on  the  score  of  gratitude  or 
duty.  As  it  is,  I  can  hardly  speak  civilly  to  her  (God  forgive  me  !) 
when  I  recollect  that  she  belongs  to  the  crew  who  murdered  him  " 
— and  he  pointed  to  the  picture,  and  Mrs.  Leigh  shuddered  as  he 
did  so. 

"You  feel  it !  You  know  you  feel  it,  tender-hearted,  forgiving 
angel  as  you  are  ;  and  what  do  you  think  I  must  feel  ?  " 

"Oh,  my  son,  my  son  !  "  cried  she,  wringing  her  hands,  "  if  I 
be  wretch  enough  to  give  place  to  the  devil  for  a  moment,  does 


WESTWARD  HO  t  452 

that  give  you  a  right  to  entertain  and  cherish  him  thus  day  by 
day  ? " 

"  I  should  cherish  him  with  a  vengeance,  if  I  brought  up  a  crew 
of  children  who  could  boast  of  a  pedigree  of  idolators  and  ty- 
rants, hunters  of  Indians,  and  torturers  of  women  !  How  pleas- 
ant to  hear  her  telling  Master  Jack,  'Your  illustrious  grand-uncle 
the  pope's  legate,  was  the  man  who  burned  Rose  Salterne  at  Car- 
thagena  ;  '  or  Miss  Grace,  'Your  great  grandfather  of  sixteen 
quarterings,  the  Marquis  of  this,  son  of  the  Grandequerry  that, 
and  husband  of  the  Princess  t'other,  used  to  feed  his  bloodhounds, 
when  beef  was  scarce,  with  Indians'  babies  ! '  Eh,  mother  ? 
These  things  are  true,  and  if  you  can  forget  them,  I  cannot.  Is 
it  not  enough  to  have  made  me  forego  for  awhile  my  purpose,  my 
business,  the  one  thing  I  live  for,  and  that  is,  hunting  down  the 
Spaniards  as  I  would  adders  or  foxes,  but  you  must  ask  me  over 
and  above  to  take  one  to  my  bosom  ?  " 

"  Oh,  my  son,  my  son  !  I  have  not  asked  you  to  do  that  ;  I  have 
only  commanded  you,  in  God's  name,  to  be  merciful,  if  you  wish 
to  obtain  mercy.  Oh,  if  you  will  not  pity  this  poor  maiden,  pity 
yourself;  for  God  knows  you  stand  in  more  need  of  it  than  she 
does  ! " 

Amyas  was  silent  for  a  minute  or  two  ;  and  then, — 

"If  it  were  not  for  you,  mother,  would  God  that  the  Armada 
would  come  ! " 

"What,  and  ruin  England  !  " 

"  No  !  Curse  them  !  Not  a  foot  will  they  ever  set  on  English 
soil,  such  a  welcome  would  we  give  them.  If  I  were  but  in  the  midst 
of  that  fleet,  fighting  like  a  man — to  forget  it  all,  with  a  galleon  on 
board  of  me  to  larboard,  and  another  to  starboard — and  then  to 
put  a  linstock  in  the  magazine,  and  go  aloft  in  good  company — I 
don't  care  how  soon  it  comes,  mother,  if  it  were  not  for  you." 

"  If  I  am  in  your  way.  Amyas,  do  not  fear  that  I  shall  trouble 
you  long." 

"  Oh,  mother,  mother,  do  not  talk  in  that  way  !  I  am  half-mad, 
I  think,  already,  and  don't  know  what  I  say.  Yes,  I  am  mad  ; 
mad  at  heart,  though  not  at  head.  There's  a  fire  burning  me^up, 
night  and  day,  and  nothing  but  Spanish  blood  will  put  it  out." 

"  Or  the  grace  of  God,  my  poor  wilful  child  !  Who  comes  to 
the  door  ? — so  quickly,  too  !  " 

There  was  a  loud  hurried  knocking,  and  in  another  minute  a 
serving-man  hurried  in  with  a  letter. 

"  This  to  Captain  Amyas  Leigh  with  haste,  haste  !  " 

It  was  Sir  Richard's  hand.  Amyas  tore  it  open  ;  and  "  a  loud 
laugh  laughed  he." 

"  The  Armada  is  coming  !  My  wish  has  come  true,  mother  l" 

"  God  help  us,  it  has  !  Show  me  the  letter." 

It  was  a  hurried  scrawl. 

**  D«.  Godson, 

**  Walsingham  sends  word  that  the  Ada,  sailed 


452  WESTWARD  HO! 

from  Lisbon  to  the  Groyne  the  i8.  of  May.  We  know  no  more, 
but  have  commandment  to  stay  the  ships.  Come  down,  dear  lad, 
and  give  us  counsel  ;  and  may  the  Lord  help  His  Church  in  this 
great  strait. 

•'  Your  loving  godfather,  R.  G." 

"  Forgive  me,  mother,  mother,  once  for  all !  "  cried  Amyas, 
throwing  his  arms  round  her  neck. 

"  I  have  nothing  to  forgive,  my  son,  my  son  !  And  shall  I  lose 
thee,  also  "i  " 

"  If  I  be  killed,  you  will  have  two  martyrs  of  your  blood, 
mother  ! " 

Mrs.  Leigh  bowed  her  head,  and  was  silent.  Amyas  caught  up 
his  hat  and  sword,  and  darted  forth  toward  Bideford. 

Amyas  literally  danced  into  Sir  Richard's  hall,  where  he  stood 
talking  earnestly  with  various  merchants  and  captains. 

"  Gloria,  gloria  !  gentles  all  !  The  devil  is  broke  loose  at  last ; 
and  now  we  know  where  to  have  him  on  the  hip  !  " 

"  Why  so  merry.  Captain  Leigh,  when  all  else  are  sad  !  "  said  a 
gentle  voice  by  his  side. 

"  Because  I  have  been  sad  a  long  time,  while  all  else  were 
merry,  dear  lady.  Is  the  hawk  doleful  when  his  hood  is  pulled  off, 
and  he  sees  the  heron  flapping  right  ahead  of  him  .'' " 

"  You  seem  to  forget  the  danger  and  the  woe  of  us  weak  women, 
sir  ?" 

"  I  don't  forget  the  danger  and  the  woe  of  one  weak  woman, 
Madam,  and  she  the  daughter  of  a  man  who  once  stood  in  this 
room,"  said  Amyas,  suddenly  collecting  himself,  in  a  low  stern 
voice.  "  And  I  don't  forget  the  danger  and  the  woe  of  one  who 
was  worth  a  thousand  even  of  her.  I  don't  forget  anything. 
Madam." 

"  Nor  forgive  either,  it  seems." 

"  It  w^ill  be  the  time  to  talk  of  forgiveness  after  the  offender  has 
repented  and  amended  ;  and  does  the  sailing  of  the  Armada  look 
like  that  ?  " 

••  Alas  no  !  God  help  us  !  " 

"  He  will  help  us.  Madam,"  iaid  Amyas. 

"Admiral  Leigh,"  said  Sir  Richard,  "we  need  you  now,  if 
ever.  Here  are  the  queen's  orders  to  furnish  as  many  ships  as 
we  can  ;  though  from  these  gentlemen's  spirit,  I  should  say  the 
orders  were  well-nigh  needless." 

"  Not  a  doubt,  sir;  for  my  part,  I  will  fit  my  ship  at  my  own 
charges,  and  fight  her  too,  as  long  as  I  have  a  leg  or  an  arm 
left." 

"  Or  a  tongue  to  say,  never  surrender,  I'll  warrant  !  "  said  an 
old  merchant.  "You  put  life  into  us  old  fellows.  Admiral  Leigh  : 
but  it  will  be  a  heavy  matter  for  those  poor  fellows  in  Virginia, 
and  for  my  daughter  too.  Madam  Dare,  with  her  young  babe,  as 
1  hear,  just  born.  ' 

"  And  a  very    heavy  matter,"  said   some   one   else,  "  for  those 


WESTWARD  HO  i  <5J 

who  have  ventured  their  money  in  these  cargoes,  which  must  lie 
idle,  you  see,  now  for  a  year  maybe — and  then  all  the  cost  c  f  un- 
lading again " 

"  My  good  sir,"  said  Grenvile,  "  what  have  private  interests  to 
do  with  this  day  ?  Let  us  thank  God  if  He  only  please  to  leave  us 
the  bare  fee-simple  of  this  English  soil,  the  honor  of  our  wives 
and  daughters,  and  bodies  safe  from  rack  and  fagot,  to  wield  the 
swords  of  freemen  in  defence  of  a  free  land,  even  though  every 
town  and  homestead  in  England  were  wasted  with  fire,  and  we 
left  to  rebuild  over  again  all  which  our  ancestors  have  wrought 
for  us  in  now  six  hundred  years." 

"  Right,  sir  !  "  said  Amyas.  "For  my  part,  let  my  Virginian 
goods  rot  on  the  quay,  if  the  worst  comes  to  the  worst.  I  begin 
unloading  the  Vengeance  to-morrow  ;  and  to  see  as  soon  as  I  can 
fill  up  my  crew  to  a  good  fighting  number." 

And  so  the  talk  ran  on  ;  and  ere  two  days  were  passed,  most  oi 
the  neighboring  gentlemen,  summoned  by  Sir  Richard,  had  come 
in,  and  great  was  the  bidding  against  each  other  as  to  who  should 
do  most.  Gary  and  Brimblecombe,  with  thirty  tall  Clovelly  men, 
came  across  the  bay,  and  without  even  asking  leave  of  Amyas, 
took  up  their  berths  as  a  matter  of  course  on  board  the  Vengeance. 
In  the  meanwhile,  the  matter  was  taken  up  by  families.  The 
Fortescues  (a  numberless  clan)  offered  to  furnish  a  ship  ;  the 
Chichesters  another,  the  Stukelysa  third  ;  while  the  merchantmen 
were  not  backward.  The  Bucks,  the  Stranges,  the  Heards,  joy- 
fully unloaded  their  Virginian  goods,  and  replaced  them  with 
powder  and  shot  ;  and  in  a  week's  time  the  whole  seven  were 
ready  i,nce  more  for  sea,  and  dropped  down  into  Appledore 
pool,  with  Amyas  as  their  admiral  for  the  time  being  (for  Sir 
Richard  had  gone  by  land  to  Plymouth  to  join  the  deliberations 
there),  and  waited  for  the  first  favorable  wind  to  start  for  the 
rendezvous  in  the  Sound. 

At  last,  upon  the  twenty-first  of  June,  the  clank  of  the  capstans 
rang  merrily  across  the  flats,  and  amid  prayers  and  blessings, 
forth  sailed  that  gallant  squadron  over  the  bar,  to  play  their  part 
in  Britain's  Salamis  ;  while  Mrs.  Leigh  stood  watching  as  she 
stood  once  before,  beside  the  churchyard  wall  :  but  not  alone  this 
time  ;  for  Ayacanora  stood  by  her  side,  and  gazed  and  gazed,  till 
her  eyes  seemed  ready  to  burst  from  their  sockets.  At  last  she 
turned  away  with  a  sob, — 

"  And  he  never  bade  me  good-bye,  mother  ! " 

"  God  forgive  him  !  Come  home  and  pray,  my  child  ;  there  is 
no  other  rest  on  earth  than  prayer  for  woman's  heart  !  " 

They  were  calling  each  other  mother  and  daughter  then  .''  Yes. 
The  sacred  fire  of  sorrow  was  fast  burning  out  all  Ayacanora's 
fallen  savageness  ;  and,  like  a  Phcenix,  the  true  woman  was 
rising  from  those  ashes,  fair,  noble,  and  all-enduring,  as  God  had 
made  her. 


454 


W£S7WAJi£f  Not 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


HOW  THE  ADMIRAL  JOHN  HAWKINS  TESTIFIED  AGAINST 
CROAKERS. 

**  Oh,  where  be  these  gay  Spaniards, 
Which  make  so  great  a  boast  O  ? 
Oh,  they  shall  eat  the  gray-goose  feather, 
And  we  shall  eat  the  roast  0 1  " 

Cornish  Song. 

What  ^'f  the  spectators  who  last  summer  gazed  with  just  pride 
upon  the  noble  port  of  Plymouth,  its  vast  breakwater  spanning 
the  Sound  its  arsenals  and  docks,  its  two  estuaries  filled  with 
gallant  ships,  and  w^atched  the  great  screw-liners  turning  within 
their  own  length  by  force  invisible,  or  threading  the  crowded 
fleets  with  the  ease  of  the  tiniest  boat  ; — what  if,  by  some  maoric 
turn,  the  nineteenth  century,  and  all  the  magnificence  of  its  wealth 
and  science,  had  vanished— as  it  may  vanish  hereafter —  and  they 
had  found  themselves  thrown  back  three  hundred  years  into  the 
pleasant  summer  days  of  1588  ? 

Mount  Edgecombe  is  still  there,  beautiful  as  ever :  but  where 
are  the  docks,  and  where  is  Devonport  ?  No  vast  drydock  roofs 
rise  at  the  water's  edge.  Drake's  island  carries  but  a  paltry 
battery,  just  raised  by  the  man  whose  name  it  bears  ;  Mount 
Wise  is  a  lone  gentleman's  house  among  fields  ;  the  citadel  is 
a  pop-gun  fort,  which  a  third  class  steamer  would  shell  into  rubble 
for  an  afternoon's  amusement.  And  the  shipping  where  are  they  ? 
The  floating  castles  of  the  Hamoaze  have  dwindled  to  a  few  craw- 
ling lime-hoys  ;  and  the  Catwater  is  packed,  not  as  now,  with  mer- 
chant craft,  but  with  the  ships  who  will  to-morrow  begin  the 
greatest  sea-fight  which  the  world  has  ever  seen. 

There  they  lie,  a  paltry  squadron  enough  in  modern  eyes  ;  the 
largest  of  them  not  equal  in  size  to  a  six-and-thirty  gun  frigate, 
carrying  less  weight  of  metal  than  one  of  our  new  gun-boats,  and 
able  to  employ  even  that  at  not  more  than  a  quarter  of  our  modern 
range.  Would  our  modern  spectators,  just  come  down  by  rail 
for  a  few  hours,  to  see  the  cavalry  embark,  and  return  to-morrow 
in  time  for  dinner,  have  looked  down  upon  that  petty  port,  and 
petty  fleet,  with  a  contemptuous  smile,  and  began  some  flippant 
speech  about  the  progress  of  intellect,  and  the  triumphs  of  science, 
and  our  benighted  ancestors  ?  They  would  have  done  so,  doubt 
it  not,  if  they  belonged  to  the  many  who  gaze  on  those  very  tri- 
umphs as  on  a  raree-show  to  feed  their  silly  wonder,  or  use  and 
enjoy  them  without  thankfulness  or  understanding,  as  the  o.k  eats 
the  clover  thrust  into  his  rack,  without  knowing  or  caring  how  it 
grew.     But  if  any  of  them  were  of  the  class  by  whom  those  very 


WESTIVAJ^D  HOI  455 

triumphs  have  been  achieved  ;  the  thinkers  and  the  workers,  who, 
instead  of  entering  lazily  into  other  men's  labors,  as  the  mob 
does,  labor  themselves  ;  who  know  by  hard  experience  the  strug- 
gles, the  self-restraints,  the  disappointments,  the  slow  and  stag- 
gering steps,  by  which  the  discoverer  reaches  to  his  prize  ;  then 
the  smile  of  those  men  would  not  have  been  one  of  pity,  but 
rather  of  filial  love.  For  they  would  have  seen  in  those  outwJii  cViy 
paltry  armaments  the  potential  germ  of  that  mighter  one  which 
now  loads  the  Black  Sea  waves  ;  they  would  have  been  aware, 
that  to  produce  it,  with  such  materials  and  knowledge  as  then  ex- 
isted, demanded  an  intellect,  an  energy,  a  spirit  of  progress  and 
invention,  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  those  of  which  we  now  so 
loudly  boast. 

But  if,  again,  he  had  been  a  student  of  men  rather  than  of 
machinery,  he  would  have  found  few  nobler  companies  on  whom 
to  exercise  his  discernment,  then  he  might  have  seen  in  the  little 
terrace  bowling-green  behind  the  Pelican  Inn,  on  the  afternoon 
of  the  nineteenth  of  July.  Chatting  in  groups,  or  lounging  over, 
the  low  wall  which  commanded  a  view  of  the  Sound  and  the 
shipping  far  below,  were  gathered  almost  every  notable  man  of 
the  Plymouth  fleet,  the  whole  posse  comitatus  of  "  England's 
forgotten  worthies."  The  Armada  has  been  scattered  by  a 
storm.  Lord  Howard  has  been  out  to  look  for  it,  as  far  as  the 
Spanish  coast  ;  but  the  wind  has  shifted  to  the  south,  and  fear- 
ing lest  the  Dons  should  pass  him,  he  has  returned  to  Plymouth, 
uncertain  whether  the  Armada  will  come  after  all  or  not.  Slip 
on  for  a  while,  like  Prince  Hal,  the  drawer's  apron  ;  come  in 
through  the  rose-clad  door  which  opens  from  the  tavern,  with  a 
tray  of  long-necked  Dutch  glasses,  and  a  silver  tankard  of  wine 
and  look  round  you  at  the  gallant  captains,  who  are  waiting  for 
the  Spanish  Armada,  as  lions  in  their  lair  might  wait  for  the 
passing  herd  of  deer. 

See  those  five  talking  earnestly,  in  the  centre  of  a  ring,  which 
longs  to  overhear,  and  yet  is  too  respectful  to  approach  close. 
Those  soft  long  eyes  and  pointed  chin  you  recognize  already  ;  they 
are  Walter  Raleigh's.  The  fair  young  man  in  the  flame-co'.ored 
doublet,  v/hose  arm  is  round  Raleigh's  neck,  is  Lord  Sheffield; 
opposite  them  stands,  by  the  side  of  Sir  Richard  Grenvile,  a  man 
as  stately  even  as  he,  Lord  Sheffield's  uncle,  the  Lord  Charles 
Howard  of  Effingham,  Lord  High  Admiral  of  England  ;  next  to 
him  is  his  son-in-law,  Sir  Robert  Southwell,  captain  of  the  Eliza- 
beth Jonas  :  but  who  is  that  short,  sturdy  plainly  dressed  man,  who 
stands  with  legs  a  little  apart,  and  hands  behind  his  back,  looking 
up,  with  keen  gray  eyes,  into  the  face  of  each  speaker  ?  His  cap  is 
in  his  hands^  so  yoU  can  see  the  bullet  head  of  crisp  brown  hair 
and  the  wrinkled  forehead,  as  well  as  the  high  cheekbones,  the 
short  square  face,  the  broad  temples,  the  thick  lips,  which  are 
yet  firm  as  granite.  A  coarse  plebeian  stamp  of  man  :  yet  the  whole 
figure  and  attitude  are  that  of  boundless  aetermination,  self-pos- 
Session,  energy  ;  and  when  at  last  he  speaks  a  few  blunt  wordsu 


^56  tVES  TWA  RD  HO  ! 

all  eyes  are  turned  respectfully  upon  him  ; — for  his  name  is  Francis 
Drake. 

A  burly,  grizzled  elder  in  greasv  sea-stained  garments  con- 
trasting oddly  with  the  huge  gold  cnain  about  his  neck,  waddles 
up,  as  if  he  had  been  born  and  had  lived  ever  since,  in  a  gale 
of  wind  at  sea.  The  upper  half  of  his  sharp  dogged  visage  seems 
of  brick-red  leather,  the  lower  of  badger's  fur  ;  and  as  he  claps 
Drake  on  the  back,  and,  with  broad  Devon  twan^,  shouts,  "  Be 
you  a  coming  to  drink  your  wine,  Francis  Dral:e,  or  be  you 
not  ? — saving  your  presence,  my  Lord  ;  "  the  Lord  High  Admiral 
only  laughs,  and  bids  Drake  go  and  drink  his  wine  ;  for  John 
Hawkins,  Admiral  of  the  port  is  the  Patriarch  of  Plymouth  sea- 
men,  if  Drake  be  their  hero,  and  says  and  does  pretty  much  what 
he  likes  in  any  company  on  earth  ;  not  to  mention  that  to-day's 
prospect  of  an  Armageddon  fight  has  shaken  him  altogether  out 
of  his  _  usual  crabbed  reserve,  and  made  him  overflow  with 
loquacious  good-humor,  even  to  his  rival  Drake. 

So  they  push  through  the  crowd,  wherein  is  many  another  man 
whom  one  would  gladly  have  spoken  with  face  to  face  on  earth. 
Martin  Frobisher  and  John  Davis  are  sitting  on  that  bench,  smok- 
ing tobacco  from  long  silver  pipes  ;  and  by  them  are  Fenton  and 
Withrington,  who  have  both  tried  to  follow  Drake's  path  round 
the  world,  and  failed,  though  by  no  fault  of  their  own.  The  man 
who  pledges  them  better  luck  next  time,  is  George  Fenner,  known 
to  "  the  seven  Portugals,"  Leicester's  pet,  and  captain  of  the 
galleon  which  Elizabeth  bought  of  him.  That  short  prim  man  in 
the  huge  yellow  ruff,  with  sharp  chin,  minute  imperial,  and  self- 
satisfied  smile,  is  Richard  Hawkins,  the  Complete  Seaman,  Ad- 
miral John's  hereafter  famous  and  hapless  son.  The  elder  who  is 
talking  with  him  is  his  good  uncle  William,  whose  monument  still 
stands,  or  should  stand,  in  Deptford  Church  ;  for  Admiral  John 
set  it  up  there  but  one  year  after  this  time  ;  and  on  it  record  how 
he  was,  "  A  worshipper  of  the  true  religion,  an  especial  bene- 
factor of  poor  sailors,  a  most  just  arbiter  in  most  difficult  causes, 
and  of  a  singular  faith,  piety  and  prudence."  That,  and  the  fact  that 
he  got  creditably  through  some  sharp  work  at  Porto  Rico,  is  all 
I  know  of  William  Hawkins  ;  but  if  you  or  I,  reader,  can  have  as 
much  or  half  as  much  said  of  ns  when  we  have  to  follow  him,  we 
shall  have  no  reason  to  complain. 

There  is  John  Drake,  Sir  Francis*  brother,  ancestor  of  the  present 
stock  of  Drakes  ;  and  there  is  George,  his  nephew,  a  man  not  over- 
wise,  who  has  been  round  the  world  with  Amyas  ;  and  there  is 
Amyas  himself,  talking  to  one  who  answers  him  with  fierce  curt 
sentences,  Captain  Barker  of  Bristol,  brother  of  the  hapless  An- 
drew Barker  who  found  John  Oxenham's  guns,  and,  owing  to  a 
mutir.y  among  his  men,  perished  by  the  Spaniards  in  Honduras, 
twelve  years  ago.  Barker  is  now  captain  of  the  Victory,  one  of  the 
queen's  best- ships;  and  he  has  his  accounts  to  settle  with  the 
Dons,  as  Amyas  has  ;  so  they  are    both  growling  together  in  a 


IVES  TWA  RD  HO!  457 

corner,  while  all  the  rest  are  as  merry  as  the   tlies  upon  the  vine 
above  their  heads. 

But  who  is  the  aged  man  who  sits  upon  a  bench,  against  the 
sunny  south  wall  of  the  tavern,  his  long  white  beard  flowing 
almost  to  his  waist,  his  hands  upon  his  knees,  his  palsied  head 
moving  slowly  from  side  to  side,  to  catch  the  scraps  of  discourse 
of  the  passing  captains  ?  His  great  grandchild,  a  little  maid  of 
six,  has  laid  her  curly  head  upon  his  knees,  and  his  grand-daughter, 
a  buxom  black-eyed  dame  of  thirty,  stands  by  him  and  tends  him, 
half  as  nurse,  and  half,  too.  as  showman,  for  he  seems  an  object  of 
curiosity  to  all  the  captains,  and  his  fair  nurse  has  to  entreat  again 
and  again,  "  Bless  you  sir,  please  now,  don't  give  him  no  liquor, 
poor  old  soul,  the  doctor  says."  It  is  old  Martin  Cockrem,  father  of 
the  ancient  host,  aged  himself  beyond  the  years  of  men,  who  can  rec- 
ollect the  bells  of  Plymouth  ringing  for  the  coronation  of  Henry 
the  Eighth,  and  who  was  the  first  Lnglishman,  perhaps,  whoever 
set  foot  on  the  soil  of  the  New  World.  There  he  sits,  like  an  old 
Druid  Tor  of  primeval  granite  amid  the  tall  wheat  and  rich  clover 
crops  of  a  modern  farm.  He  has  seen  the  death  of  old  Europe  and 
the  birth-throes  of  the  new.  Go  to  him,  and  question  him  ;  for 
his  senses  are  quick  as  ever  ;  and  just  now  the  old  man  seems 
uneasy,  He  is  peering  with  rheumy  eyes  through  the  groups,  and 
seems  listening  for  a  well-known  voice. 

"  There  'a  be  again  !     Why  don't  'a  come,  then  ?  " 

"  Quiet,  Gramfer,  and  don't  trouble  his  worship."  ^^ 

"  Here  an  hour,  and  never  speak  to  poor  old  Martin  !  I  say,  sir  ' 

and  the  old  man   feebly  plucks  Amyas's  cloak  as  he  passes.  "  I 

say,  captain,  do'e  tell  young  master  old  Martin's  looking  for  him." 

"  Marcy,  Gramfer,  where's  your  manners  ?  Don't  be  vexed, 
sir,  he'm  a'most  a  babe,  and  tejous  at  times,  mortal." 

"  Young  master  who  ?  "  says  Amyas,  bending  down  to  the  old 
man,  and,  smiling  to  the  dame  to  let  him  have  his  way. 

"  Master  Hawkins  ;  he'm  never  been  a-near  me  all  day.  " 

Off  goes  Amyas  ;  and,  of  course,  lays  hold  of  the  sleeve  o! 
young  Richard  Hawkins  ;  but  as  he  is  in  ac^  to  speak,  the  dame 
lays  hold  of  his,  laughing  and  blushing. 

"  No,  sir,  not  Mr.  Richard,  sir  ;  Admiral  John,  sir,  his  father  ; 
he  always  calls  him  young  master,  poor  old  soul  !  "  and  she  points 
to  the  grizzled  beard  and  the  face  scarred  and  tanned  with  fifty 
years  of  fight  and  storm. 

Amyas  goes  to  the  Admiral,  and  gives  his  message. 

"  Mercy  on  me!  Where  be  my  wits?  Iss,  I'm  a-coming,"  says 
the  old  hero  in  his  broadest  Devon,  waddles  off  to  the  old  man,  and 
begins  lugging  at  a  pocket.  "  Here,  Martin,  I've  got  mun,  I've  got 
mun,  man  alive  ;  but  his  Lordship  keept  me  so.  Lookee  here,  then ! 
Why,  I  do  get  so  lusty  of  late,  Martin,  I  can't  get  to  my  pockets  !  " 

And  out  struggle  a  piece  of  tarred  string,  a  bundle  of  papers,  a 
thimble,  a  piece  of  pudding-tobacco,  and  last  of  all,  a  little  paper 
of  Muscovado  sugar— then  as  great  a  delicacy  as  any  French  bon- 


45B  IVES  TWA  J^D  BO! 

bons  would  be  now — which  he  thrusts  into  the  old  man's  eager  and 
trembling-  hand. 

Old  Martin  begins  dipping  his  finger  into  it,  and  rubbing  it  on 
his  toothless  gums,  smiling  and  nodding  thanks  to  his  young  mas- 
ter ;  while  the  little  maid  at  his  knee,  unrebuked,  takes  her  share 
also. 

"  There,  Admiral  Leigh  ;  both  ends  meet— gramfers  and 
babies  !     You  and  I  shall  belike  to  that  one  day,  young  Samson  !" 

"  We  shall  have  slain  a  good  many  Philistines  first,  I  hope,  " 

"  Amen  !  so  be  it  ;  but  look  to  mun  !  so  fine  a  sailor  as  ever 
drank  liquor  ;  and  now  greedy  after  a  bit  of  sweet  trade  !  'tis  pit- 
eous like  ;  but  I  bring  mun  a  bit  whenever  I  come,  and  he  looks 
for  it.  He's  one  of  my  own  flesh  like,  is  old  Martin.  He  sailed 
with  my  father  Captain  Will,  when  they  was  both  two  little  cracks 
aboard  of  a  trawler;  and  my  father  went  up,  and  here  I  am — he 
didn't,  and  there  he  is.  We'm  up  now,  we  Hawkinses.  We  may 
be  down  again  some  day." 

"  Never,  I  trust,"  said  Amyas. 

"  'Tain't  no  use  trusting,  young  man  :  you  go  and  do.  I  do  hear 
too  much  of  that  there  from  my  lad.  Let  they  ministers  preach  till 
they'm  black  in  the  face,  works  is  the  trade  !  "  with  a  nudge  in 
Amyas's  ribs.  "  Faith  can't  save,  nor  charity  nether.  There, 
you  tell  with  him,  while  I  go  play  bowls  with  Drake.  He'll  tell 
you  a  sight  of  stories.  You  ask  him  about  good  King  Hal,  now, 
just " 

And  off  waddled  the  Port  Admiral. 

"  You  have  seen  good  King  Henry,  then,  father  ?  "  said  Amyas, 
interested. 

The  old  man's  eyes  lighted  at  once,  and  he  stopped  mumbling 
his  sugar. 

"Seed  mun  ?  Iss,  I  reckon.  I  was  with  Captain  Will  when  he 
went  to  meet  the  Frenchman  there  to  Calais— at  the  Field,  the 
Field " 

"  The  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,  Gramfer,"  suggested  the  dame. 

"  That's  it.  Seed  mun  }  Iss,  fegs.  Oh,  he  was  a  king  !  The 
face  o'  mun  like  a  rising  sun,  and  the  back  o'  mun  so  broad  as 
that  there  "  (and  he  held  out  his  palsied  arms),  "  and  the  voice  of 
mun  !  Oh,  to  hear  mun  swear  if  he  was  merry,  oh,  'twas  royal ! 
—Seed  mun  ?  Iss,  fegs  !  And  I've  seed  mun  do  what  few  has  ; 
I've  seed  mun  christle  like  any  child." 

"  What— cry  ?  "  said  Amyas.  "  I  shouldn't  have  thought  there 
was  much  cry  in  him." 

"  You  think  what  you  like " 

"  Gramfer,  Gramfer,  don't  you  be  rude,  now " 

*'  Let  him  go  on,"  said  Amyas. 

"  I  seed  mun  christle  ;  ancl,  oh  dear,  how  he  did  put  hands  on 
mun's  face;  and  'Oh,  my  gentlemen,' says  he,  'my  gentlemen  J 
Oh,  my  gallani;  men  ! '    Them  was  his  very  wprds." 

"  But  when  ?  " 

"Why,  Captain  Will  had  just  come   to   the    Hard— that's   tc 


jvr,sTivAs:D  ho  / 


459 


Portsmouth — to  speak  with  mun,  and  the  barge  Royal  lay  again 
the  Hard — so  ;  and  our  boot  alongside — so  ;  and  the  king  he 
standeth  as  it  might  be  there,  above  my  bead,  on  the  quay  ^<\^^^ 
and  she  come  in  near  abreast  of  us,  looking  most  royal  to  behold, 
poor  dear  !  and  went  to  cast  about.  And  Captain  Will,  saith  he, 
*  Them  lower  ports  is  cruel  near  the  water  ;  '  for  she  had  not  more 
than  a  sixteen  inches  to  spare  in  the  nether  overloop,  as  I  heard 
after.  And  saith  he,  '  That  won't  do  for  going  to  windward  in  a 
say,  Martin.*  And  as  the  words  came  out  ofmun's  mouth,  your 
worship,  there  was  a  bit  of  a  flaw  from  the  westward,  sharp  like, 
and  overboard  goeth  my  cap,  and  hitth  against  the  wall,  and  as  I 
stooped  to  pick  it  up,  I  heard  a  cry,  and  it  was  all  over  !  " 

"He  is  telling  of  the  Mary  Rose,  sir." 

"I  guessed  so." 

"  All  over  :  and  the  cry  of  mun,  and  the  screech  of  mun  !  Oh, 
sir,  up  to  the  very  heavens  !  And  the  king  he  screeched  right 
out  like  any  maid,  '  Oh  my  gentlemen,  oh  my  gallant  men  !  "  and 
as  she  lay  on  her  beam-ends,  sir,  and  just  a-settling,  the  very  last 
souls  I  seen  was  that  man's  father,  and  that  man's.  I  knowed  mun 
by  their  armor." 

And  he  pointed  to  Sir  George  Carew  and  Sir  Richard  Gren- 
vile. 

♦  Iss  !     Iss  !     Drowned  like  rattens.     Drowned  like  rattens  !" 

••  Now  ;  you  mustn't  trouble  his  worship  any  more." 

"Trouble  ?  Let  him  tell  till  midnight,  I  shall  be  well  pleased," 
said  Amyas,  sitting  down  on  the  bench  by  him.  "  Drawer  !  ale — 
and  a  parcel  of  tobacco." 

And  Amyas  settled  himself  to  listen,  while  the  old  man  purred 
to  himself — 

"  Iss.  They  likes  to  hear  old  Martin.  All  the  captains  look 
upon  old  Martin." 

"  Hillo,  Amyas!"  said  Gary,  "who's  your  friend?  Here's  a 
man  been  telling  me  wonders  about  the  River  Plate.  We  should 
go  thither  for  luck  there  next  time." 

"  River  Plate  .''  "  said  old  Martin  ;  "  It's  I  knows  about  the  River 
Plate  ;  none  so  well.  Who'd  ever  been  there,  nor  heard  of  it 
nether,  before  Captain  Will  and  me  went,  and  I  lived  among  the 
savages  a  whole  year;  and  audacious  civil  1  found  'em  if  they'd 
had  but  shirts  to  their  backs  ;  and  so  was  the  prince  o'  mun,  that 
Captain  Will  brought  home  to  King  Henry  ;  leastwise  he  died  on 
the  voyage  ;  but  the  wild  folk  took  it  cruel  well,  for  you  see,  we  was 
always  as  civil  with  them  as  Christians,  and  if  we  hadn't  been,  \ 
should  not  have  been  here  now." 

"  What  year  was  that  ?  " 

"  In  the  fifteen  thirty  ;  but  I  was  there  afore,  and  learnt  the 
/speech  o'  mun  ;  and  that's  why  Captain  Will  left  me  to  a  hostage, 
when  he  tuked  their  prince." 

"  Before  that  ?  "  said  Gary  ;  "  why,  the  country  was  hardly 
known  before  that." 

The  old  man's  eyes  flashed  up  in  triumph. 


460  WESTWARD     -O ! 

"  Knowed  ?  Iss,  and  you  may  well  say  ih<it !  Look  ye  here  ! 
Look  to  mun  !"  and  he  waved  his  hand  round — "  There's  captains  ! 
and  I'm  the  father  of  'em  all  now,  now  poor  Captain  Will's  in 
gloory  ;  I,  Martin  Cockrem  !  .  .  .  Iss,  I've  seen  a  change.  I  mind 
when  Tavistock  Abbey  was  so  full  o'  friars,  and  goolden  idols,  and 
sich  noxious  trade,  as  ever  was  a  wheat-rick  of  rats.  I  mind  the 
fight  off  Brest  in  the  French  wars — Oh,  that  was  a  fight,  surely  I— 
when  the  Regent  and  the  French  Carack  were  burnt  side  by  side, 
being  fast  grappled,  you  see,  because  of  Sir  Thomas  Knive't  ;  and 
Captain  Will  gave  him  warning  as  he  ran  a-past  us,  saying,  says 
he " 

"  But,"  said  Amyas,  seeing  that  the  old  man  was  wandering 
away,  "  what  do  you  mind  about  America  ?  " 

"  America.^  I  should  think  so  !  But  I  was  a-going  to  tell  you 
of  the  Regent — and  seven  hundred  Englishmen  burnt  and  drowned 
in  her,  and  nine  hundred  French  in  the  Brest  ship,  besides  what 
we  picked  up.     Oh  dear  !  But  about  America." 

"  Yes,  about  America.  How  are  you  the  father. of  all  the  caj.*- 
tains  ?  " 

"  How  ?  you  ask  my  young  master  !  W^hy,  before  the  fifteen 
thirty,  I  was  up  the  Plate  with  Cabot  (and  a  cruel  fractious  on- 
trustful  fellow  he  was,  like  all  they  Portingals),  and  bid  there  f: 
year  and  more,  and  up  the  Paraguaio  with  him,  diskivering  no 
end  ;  whereby,  gentles,  I  was  the  first  Englishman,  I  hold'  that 
ever  sot  a  foot  on  the  New  World,  I  was  !  " 

"  Then  here's  your  health,  and  long  life,  sir  !  "  said  Amyas  and 
Cary. 

"  Long  life  ?  Iss,  fegs,  I  reckon,  long  enough  already  !  Why, 
I  mind  the  beginning  of  it  all,  I  do.  I  mind  when  there  wasn't  a 
master  mariner  to  Plymouth,  that  thought  there  was  aught  west 
of  the  Land's  End  except  herrings.  Why,  they  held  them,  pure 
wratches,  that  if  you  sailed  right  west  away  far  enough,  you'd 
surely  come  to  the  edge,  and  fall  over  cleve.  Iss, — 'Twas  dark 
parts  round  here,  till  Captain  Will  arose  ;  and  the  first  of  it  I 
mind  was  inside  the  bar  of  San  Lucar,  and  he  and  I  were  boys 
about  a  ten  year  old,  aboord  of  a  Dartmouth  ship,  and  went  for 
wine  ;  and  there  come  in  over  the  bar  he  that  was  the  beginning 
of  it  all." 

"  Columbus  ?  " 

"  Iss,  fegs,  he  did,  not  a  pistol-shot  from  us  ;  and  I  saw  mun 
stand  on  the  poop,  so  plain  as  I  see  you  ;  no  great  shakes  of  a 
man  to  look  to  nether  ;  there's  a  sight  better  here,  to  plase  me  ; 
and  we  was  disappointed,  we  lads,  for  we  surely  expected  to  see 
mun  with  a  goolden  crown  on,  and  a  sceptre  to  a's  hand,  we  did, 
and  the  ship  o'  mun  all  over  like  Solomon's  temple  for  gloory. 
And  I  mind  that  same  year,  too,  seeing  Vasco  de  Gama,  as  was 
going  out  over  the  bar,  when  he  found  the  Bona  Speranza,  and 
sailed  round  it  to  the  Indies.  Ah,  that  was  the  making  of  they 
rascally  Portingals,  it  was  !  .  .  .  And  our  crew  told  what  they  seen 
and  heerd  ;  but  nobody  minded   sich  things,     'Twas  dark  parts. 


WESTWARD  HO  !  4^1 

and  Popish,  then  ;  and  nobody  knowed  nothing,  nor  got  no 
schooling,  nor  cared  for  nothing,  but  scrattling  up  and  down 
alongshore  like  to  prawns  in  a  pule.  Iss,  sitting  in  darkness,  we 
was,  and  the  shadow  of  death,  till  the  day-spring  from  on  high 
arose,  and  shined  upon  us  poor  out-o'-the-vvay  folk — The  Lord  be 
praised  !  And  now,  look  to  mun  !  "  and  he  waved  his  hand  all 
round — ''  Look  to  mun  !  Look  to  the  works  of  the  Lord  !  Look  to 
the  captains  !  Oh  blessed  sight  !  And  one's  been  to  the  Brazils, 
and  one  to  the  Indies,  and  the  Spanish  Main,  and  the  North-West, 
and  the  Rooshias,  and  the  Chinas,  and  up  the  Straits,  and  round 
the  Cape,  and  round  the  world  of  God,  too,  bless  His  holy  name  ; 
and  I  seed  the  beginning  of  it  ;  and  I'll  see  the  end  of  it  too,  I  will  ! 
I  was  born  into  the  old  times  but  I'll  see  the  wondrous  works  of 
the  new,  yet,  I  will  !  I'll  see  they  bloody  Spaniards  swept  off  the 
seas  before  I  die,  if  my  old  eyes  can  reach  so  far  as  outside  the 
Sound.  I  shall,  I  knows  it.  I  says  my  prayers  for  it  every  night ; 
don't  I,  Mary?  You'll  bate  mun,  sure  as  Judgment,  you'll  bate 
mun  !  The  Lord'll  fight  for  ye.  Nothing'll  stand  against  ye.  I've 
seed  it  all  along — ever  since  I  was  with  young  master  to  the  Hon- 
duras. They  can't  bide  the  push  of  us  !  You'll  bate  mun  off  the 
face  of  the  seas,  and  be  masters  of  the  round  world,  and  all  that 
therein  is.  And  then,  I'll  just  turn  my  old  face  to  the  wall,  and 
depart  in  peace,  according  to  His  word. 

"  Deary  me,  now,  while  I've  been  telling  with  you,  here've  this 
little  maid  been  and  ate  up  all  my  sugar  ! " 

"  I'll  bring  you  some  more,"  said  Amyas  ;  whom  the  childish 
bathos  of  the  last  sentence  moved  rather  to  sighs  than  laughter. 

"  Will  ye,  then  ?  There's  a  good  soul,  and  come  and  tell  with 
old  Martin.  He  likes  to  see  the  brave  young  gentlemen,  a-going 
to  and  fro  in  their  ships,  like  Leviathan,  and  taking  of  their  pastime 
therein.  We  had  no  such  ships  to  our  days.  Ah,  'tis  grand 
times,  beautiful  times  surely — and  you'll  bring  me  a  bit  sugar  ?  " 

"  You  were  up  the  Plate  with  Cabot  ?  "  said  Cary,  after  a  pause. 
"  Do  you  mind  the  fair  lady  Miranda,  Sebastian  de  Hurtado's 
wife  ?  " 

"  What !  her  that  was  burnt  by  the  Indians  }  Mind  her  ?  Do 
you  mind  the  sun  in  heaven  ?  Oh,  the  beauty  !  Oh,  the  ways  of 
her  !  Oh,  the  speech  of  her  !  Never  was,  nor  never  will  be  ! 
And  she  to  die  by  they  villains  ;  and  all  for  the  goodness  of  her  ! 
Mind  her  ?     I  minded  nought  else  when  she  was  on  deck." 

••  Who  was  she  ?  "  asked  Amyas  of  Cary. 

"  A  Spanish  angel,  Amyas." 

"  Humph  1  "  said  Amyas.  "So  much  the  worse  for  her,  to  be 
born  into  a  nation  of  devils." 

"  They'm  not  all  so  bad  as  that,  yer  honor.  Her  husband  was 
a  proper  gallant  gentleman,  and  kind  as  a  maid,  too,  and  couldn't 
abide  that  De  Solis's  murderous  doings." 

"  His  wife  must  have  taught  it  him,  then,"  said  Amyas,  rising, 
"  Where  did  you  hear  of  these  black  swans,  Cary  ?  " 


462  WESTWARD  HO! 

"  I  have  heard  of  them,  and  that's  enough,"  answered  he,  un. 
willing  to  stir  sad  recollections. 

"  And  little  enough,"  said  Amyas.  "  Will,  don't  talk  to  me. 
The  devil  is  not  grown  white  because  he  has  trod  in  a  lime-heap." 

"  Or  an  angel  l)lack  because  she  came  down  a  chimney,"  said 
Cary  ;  and  so  the  talk  ended,  or  rather  was  cut  short  ;  for  the  talk 
of  all  the  groups  was  interrupted  by  an  explosion  from  old  John 
Hawkins. 

"Fail.?  Fail?  What  a  murrain  do  you  hear,  to  talk  of  failing  ? 
Who  made  you  a  prophet,  you  scurvy,  hang-in-the-wind,  croaking, 
white-livered  son  of  a  corby-crow  ?  " 

"  Heaven  help  us,  Admiral  Hawkins,  who  has  put  fire  to  your 
culverins  in  this  fashion  ?  "  said  Lord  Howard. 

"  Who  .'*  my  Lord  !  Croakers  !  my  Lord  !  Here's  a  fellow  calls 
himself  the  captain  of  a  ship  and  her  Majesty's  servant,  and  talks 
about  failing,  as  if  he  were  a  Barbican  loose-kirtle  trying  to  keep 
her  apple-squire  ashore  1     Blurt  for  him,  sneak-up  !  say  1." 

"Admiral  John  Hawkins,"  quoth  the  offender,  "  you  shall  an- 
swer this  language  with  your  sword." 

"  ril  answer  it  with  my  foot  ;  and  buy  me  a  pair  of  horn-tips  to 
my  shoes,  like  a  wraxling  man.  Fight  a  croaker  .'*  Fight  a  frog, 
an  owl  !     I  fight  those  that  dare  fight,  sir  !  " 

"  Sir,  sir,  moderate  yourself.  I  am  sure  this  gentleman  will  show 
himself  as  brave  as  any,  when  it  comes  to  blows  :  but  who  can, 
blame  mortal  man  from  trembling  before  so  fearful  a  chance  as 
this  ?  " 

"  Let  mortal  man  keep  his  tremblings  to  himself,  then,  my  Lord, 
and  not  be  like  Solomon's  madmen,  casting  abroad  fire  and  death, 
and  saying,  it  is  only  in  sport.  There  is  more  than  one  of  his  kid- 
ney, your  Lordship,  who  have  not  been  ashamed  to  play  Mother 
Shipton  before  their  own  sailors,  and  damp  the  poor  fellow's  hearts 
with  crying  before  they're  hurt,  and  this  is  one  of  them.  I've 
heard  him  at  it  afore,  and  I'll  present"  him,  with  a  vengeance, 
though  I'm  no  churchwarden." 

"  U  this  is  really  so,  Admiral  Hawkins " 

"  It  is  so,  my  Lord  !  I  heard  only  last  night,  down  in  a  tavern 
below,  such  unbelieving  talk  as  made  me  mad,  my  Lord  ;  and  if  it 
had  not  been  after  supper,  and  my  hand  was  not  over-steady,  I 
would  have  let  out  a  pottle  of  Alicant  from  some  of  their  hoopings, 
and  sent  them  to  Dick  Surgeon,  to  wrap  them  in  swaddling-clouts, 
like  whining  babies  as  they  are.  Marry  come  up,  what  says 
Scripture  ?  '  He  that  is  fearful  and  faint-hearted  among  you,  let 
him  go  and  ' — what  .''  son  Dick  there  ?  Thou'rt  pious,  and  read'st 
thy  Bible.     What's  that  text  ?     A  mortal  fine  one  it  is,  too." 

"  '  He  that  is  fearful  and  faint-hearted  among  you,  let  him  go 
back,'  "  quoth  the  Complete  Seaman.  "  Captain  Merryweather,  as 
my  father's  command,  as  well  as  his  years,  forbid  his  answering 
your  challenge,  I  shall  repute  it  an  honor  to  entertain  his  quarrel 
myself — place,  time,  and  weapons  being  at  your  choice." 

"  Well  spoken,  son  Dick  ! — and  like  a  true  courtier,  too  !     Ah  I 


WESTWARD  HO!  463 

thou  hast  the  palabras,  and  the  knee,  and  the  cap,  and  the  quip, 
and  the  innuendo,  and  the  true  town  fashion  of  it  all— no  old 
tarry-breeks  of  a  sea-dog,  like  thy  dad  !  My  Lord,  you'll  let  them 
fight  ? " 

"  The  Spaniard,  sir;  but  no  one  else.  But,  captains  and  gen- 
tlemen, consider  well  my  friend  the  Port  Admiral's  advice  ;  and 
if  any  man's  heart  misgives  him,  let  him,  for  the  sake  of  his  coun- 
try and  his  queen,  have  so  much  government  of  his  tongue  to  hide 
his  fears  in  his  own  bosom,  and  leave  open  complaining  to  ribalds 
and  women.  For  if  the  sailor  be  not  cheered  by  his  commander's 
cheerfulness,  how  will  the  ignorant  man  find  comfort  in  himself.^ 
And  without  faith  and  hope,  how  can  he  fight  worthily  ?  "    ^^ 

"There  is  no  croaking  aboard  of  us,  we  will  warrant,"  said 
twenty  voices,  "and  shall  be  none,  as  long  as  we  command  on 
board  our  own  ships." 

Hawkins,  having  blown  off  his  steam,  went  back  to  Drake  and 
the  bowls. 

"  Fill  my  pipe.  Drawer — that  croaking  fellow's  made  me  let  it 
out,  of  course  !  Spoil-sports  !  The  father  of  all  manner  of  troubles 
on  earth,  be  they  noxious  trade  of  croakers  !  '  Belter  to  meet  a 
bear  robbed  of  her  whelps,'  Francis  Drake,  as  Solomon  saith,  than 
a  fule  who  can't  keep  his  mouth  shut.  What  brought  Mr.  Andrew- 
Barker  to  his  death  but  croakers  ?  What  stopped  Fenton's  China 
voyage  in  the  '82,  and  lost  your  nephew  John,  and  my  brother 
Will,  glory  and  hard  cash  too,  but  croakers  ?  What  sent  back  my 
Lord  Cumberland's  armada  in  the  '86,  and  that  after  they'd  proved 
their  strength,  too,  sixty  0'  mun  against  six  hundred  Portugalsand 
Indians  ;  and  yet  wern't  ashamed  to  turn  round  and  come  home 
empty-handed,  after  all  my  Lord's  expenses  that  he  had  been  at  ? 
What  but  these  same  beggarly  croakers,  that  be  only  fit  to  be 
turned  into  yellow-hammers  up  to  Dartymoor,  and  sit  on  a  tor  all 
day,  and  cry  '  Very  little  bit  of  bread,  and  no  chee-e-ese  ! '  Marry, 
sneak-up  !  say  I  again." 

"  And  what,"  said  Drake,  "would  have  kept  me,  if  I'd  let  'em, 
from  ever  sailing  round  the  world,  but  these  same  croakers  ?  I 
hanged  my  best  friend  for  croaking,  John  Hawkins,  may  God  for- 
give me  if  I  was  wrong,  and  I  threatened  a  week  after  to  hang 
thirty  more  ;  and  I'd  have  done  it,  too,  if  they  hadn't  clapped  torn- 
pions  into  their  muzzles  pretty  fast." 

"  You'm  right,  Frank.  My  old  father  always  told  me— and  old 
King  Hal  (bless  his  memory  !)  would  take  his  counsel  among  a 
thousand  ;—' And,  my  son,'  says  he  to  me,  'whatever  you  do, 
never  you  stand  no  croaking  ;  but  hang  mun.  son  Jack,  hang  mun 
up  for  an  ensign.  There's  Scripture  for  it,'  says  he  (he  was  a 
mighty  man  to  his  Bible,  after  Bloody  Mary's  day?,  leastwise), 
'and  'tis  written,'  says  he  '  It's  expedient  that  one  man  die  for  the 
crew,  and  that  the  whole  crew  perish  not ;  so  show  you  no  mercy, 
son  Jack,  or  you'll  find  none,  leastwise  in  they  manner  of  cattle  ; 
for  if  you  fail,  they  stamps  on  you,  and  if  you  succeeds,  they  takes 
the  credit  of  it  to  themselves,  and  goes  to  heaven  in  your  shoes.' 


404 


JVESTWAJ^n  HO  ! 


Those  were  his  words,  and  I've  found  mun  true. — Who  com'th 
here  now  ?  " 

"Captain  P^leming,  as  I'm  a  sinner." 

"Fleming?  Is  he  tired  of  life,  that  he  com'th  here  to  look  for 
a  halter  ?  I've  a  warrant  out  against  mun,  for  robbing  of  two 
Flushingers  on  the  high  seas,  now  this  very  last  year.  Is  the  fel- 
low mazed  or  drunk,  then.''  or  has  he  seen  a  ghost?  Look  to 
mun  !  " 

"  I  think  so,  truly  "  said  Drake.  "  His  eyes  are  near  out  of  his 
head." 

The  man  was  a  rough-bearded  old  sea-dog,  who  had  just  burst 
in  from  the  tavern  through  the  low  hatch,  upsetting  a  drawer  with 
all  his  glasses,  and  now  came  panting  and  blowing  straight  up  to 
the  High  Admiral, — 

"  My  Lord,  my  Lord  !  They'm  coming  !  I  saw  them  off  the 
Lizard  last  night !  " 

"  Who  ?  my  good  sir,  who  seem  to  have  left  your  manners  be- 
hind you." 

"The  Armada,  your  worship — the  Spaniard;  but  as  for  my 
manners,  'tis  no  fault  of  mine,  for  I  never  had  none  to  leave  be- 
hind me." 

"  If  he  has  not  left  his  manners  behind,"  quoth  Hawkins,  "look 
out  for  your  purses,  gentlemen  all  !  He's  manners  enough,  and 
very  bad  ones  they  be,  when  he  com'th  across  a  quiet  Flushinger." 

"  If  I  stole  Flushingers'  wines,  I  never  stole  negurs'  souls,  Jack 
Hawkins  ;  so  there's  your  answer.  My  Lord,  hang  me  if  you 
will;  life's  short  and  death's  easy  'specially  to  seamen;  but  if  I 
didn't  see  the  Spanish  fleet  last  sun-down,  coming  along  half-moon 
wise,  and  full  seven  mile  from  wing  to  wing,  within  a  four  mile  of 
me,  I'm  a  sinner," 

"Sirrah,"  said  Lord  Howard,  "is  this  no  fetch,  to  cheat  us  out 
of  your  pardon  for  these  piracies  of  yours  ?  " 

"You'll  find  out  for  yourself  before  nightfall,  my  Lord  High  Ad- 
miral. All  Jack  Fleming  says,  is,  that  this  is  a  poor  sort  of  an 
answer  to  a  man  who  has  put  his  own  neck  into  the  halter  for  the 
sake  of  his  country." 

"  Perhaps  it  is,"  said  Lord  Howard.  "  And  after  all,  gentlemen, 
what  can  this  man  gain  by  a  lie,  which  must  be  discovered  ere  a 
day  is  over,  except  a  more  certain  hanging  ?  " 

"  Very  true,  your  Lordship,"  said  Hawkins,  mollified.  "Come 
here.  Jack  Fleming — what  wilt  drain,  man  ?  Hippocras  or  Ali- 
cant,  Sack  or  John  Barleycorn,  and  a  pledge  to  thy  repentance 
and  amendment  of  life." 

"Admiral  Hawkins,  Admiral  Hawkins,  this  is  no  time  for 
drinking." 

"  Why  not,  then,  my  Lord  ?  Good  news  should  be  welcomed 
with  good  wine.  Frank,  send  down  to  the  sexton,  and  set  the 
bells  a-ringing  to  cheer  up  all  honest  hearts.  Why,  my  Lord,  if 
it  were  not  for  the  gravity  of  my  office,  I  could  dance  a  galliard 
for  jby  I  " 


WESTWARD  HO!  4I55 

'    •  Well,  you  may  dance,  Port  Admiral  :  but  I  must  go  and  plan, 
but  God  give  to  all  captains  such  a  heart  as  yours  this  day  !  " 

•'  And  God  give  all  generals  such  a  head  as  yours  !  Coma 
Frank  Drake,  we'll  play  the  game  out  before  we  move.  It  will 
be  two  good  days  before  we  shall  be  fit  to  tackle  them,  so  an  odd 
half-hour  don't  matter." 

"  I  must  command  the  help  of  your  counsel,  Vice-Admiral  * 
said  Lord  Charles  turning  to  Drake. 

"  And  it's  this,  my  good  Lord,"  said  Drake,  looking  up,  as  he 
aimed  his  bowl.  "  They'll  come  soon  enough  for  us  to  show  them 
»port,  and  yet  slow  enough  for  us  to  be  ready  ;  so  let  no  man 
nurry  himself.  And  as  example  is  better  than  precept,  here 
goes. 

Lord  Howard  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  departed,  knowing 
two  things  ;  first,  that  to  move  Drake  was  to  move  mountains  ; 
and  next,  that  when  the  self-taught  hero  did  bestir  himself,  he 
would  do  more  work  in  an  hour  than  any  one  else  in  a  day.  So 
he  departed,  followed  hastily  by  most  of  the  captains  ;  and  Drake 
said  in  a  low  voice  to  Hawkins — 

"  Does  he  think  we  are  going  to  knock  about  on  a  lee-shore  all 
the  afternoon  and  run  our  noses  at  night — and  dead  up-wind,  too 
—into  the  Don's  mouths  ?  No,  Jack,  my  friend.  Let  Orlando- 
Furioso-punctilio-fire-eatcrs  go  and  get  their  knuckles  rapped. 
The  following  game  is  the  game,  and  not  the  meeting  one.  The 
dog  goes  after  the  sheep,  and  not  afore  them,  lad.  Let  them  go 
by,  and  go  by  and  stick  to  them  well  to  windward,  and  pick  up 
stragglers,  and  pickings,  too,  Jack — the  prizes.  Jack  ! " 

"  Trust  my  old  eyes  for  not  being  over-quick  at  seeing  signals, 
if  I  be  hanging  in  the  skirts  of  a  fat-looking  Don.  We'nri  the 
eagles,  Drake  ;  and  where  the  carcase  is,  is  our  place,  eh  .''  " 

And  so  the  two  old  sea-dogs  chatted  on,  while  their  companions 
dropped  off  one  by  one,  and  only  Amyas  remained. 

"  Eh,  Captain  Leigh,  where's  my  bay  Dick  ?" 

••  Gone  on  with  his  lordship.  Sir  John." 

"  On  his  punctilios  too,  I  suppose,  the  young  slashed-breeks. 
He's  half  a  Don,  that  fellow,  with  his  fine  scholarship,  and  his 
fine  manners,  and  his  fine  clothes.  He'll  get  a  taking  down  before 
he  dies,  unless  he  mends.     Why  ain't  you  gone  too,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  follow  my  leader,"  said  Amyas,  filling  his  pipe. 

"  Well  said,  my  big  man,"  quoth  Drake.  "  If  I  could  lead  you 
round  the  world,  I  can  lead  you  up  Channel,  can't  I  ? — Eh  !  my 
little  bantam-cock  of  the  Orinoco  ?  Drink,  lad  !  You're  over-sad 
to-day." 

"  Not  a  whit,"  said  Amyas.  "  Only  I  can't  help  wondering 
whether  I  shall  find  him  after  all." 

"  Whom  !  That  Don  ?  We'll  find  him  for  you,  if  he's  in  the 
fleet.  We'll  squeeze  it  out  of  our  prisoners  somehow.  Eh,  Haw- 
kins ?  I  thought  all  the  captains  had  promised  to  send  you  news 
if  they  heard  of  him." 

"  Ay,  but  it's  ill  looking  for  a  needle  in  a  haystack.     But  I  shall 


406  WESTIVARD  HO! 

find  him.  I  am  a  coward  to  doubt  it,"  said  Amyas,  setting  his 
teeth." 

"  There,  Vice-Admiral,  you're  beaten,  and  that's  the  rubber. 
Pay  up  three  dollars,  old  high-flyer,  and  go  and  earn  more,  like 
an  honest  adventurer." 

"  Well,"  said  Drake,  as  he  pulled  out  his  purse,  "  we'll  walk 
down  now,  and  see  about  these  young  hot-heads.  As  I  live,  they 
are  setting  to  tow  the  ships  out  already  !  Breaking  the  men's 
backs  over-night,  to  make  them  fight  the  lustier  in  the  morning  ! 
Well,  well  they  haven't  sailed  round  the  world.  Jack  Hawkins." 

"  Gr  had  to  run  home  from  St.  Juan  d'Ulloa  with  half  a  crew." 

"  Well  if  we  haven't  to  run  out  with  half  crews.  I  saw  a  sight 
of  our  lads  drunk  about  this  morning." 

"  The  more  reason  for  waiting  till  they  be  sober.  Besides,  if 
everybody's  caranting  about  to  once  each  after  his  own  men, 
nobody '11  find  nothing  in  such  a  scrimmage  as  that.  Bye,  bye, 
Uncle  Martin.  We'm  going  to  blov/  the  Dons  up  nov\r  in 
earnest." 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  GREAT  ARMADA. 


"  Britannia  needs  no  bulwarks, 
No  towers  along  the  steep, 
Her  march  is  o'er  the  mountain  wave 
Her  home  b  on  the  deep." 

Campbell,  Ye  Mariners  of  England- 


And  now  began  that  great  sea-fight  which  was  to  determin:e 
whether  Popery  and  despotism,  or  Protestantism  and  freedom,  were 
the  law  which  God  had  appointed  for  the  half  of  Europe,  and  the 
whole  of  future  America.  It  is  a  twelve  days'  epic,  worthy,  as  I 
said  in  the  beginning  of  this  book,  not  of  dull  prose,  but  of  the 
thunder-roll  of  Homer's  verse  :  but  having  to  tell  it,  I  must  do 
my  best,  rather  using,  where  I  can,  the  words  of  contemporary 
authors  than  my  own. 

"  The  Lord  High  Admirall  of  England,  sending  a  pinnace 
before,  called  the  Defiance,  denounced  war  by  discharging  her 
ordnance  ;  and  presently  approaching  within  nriusquet-shot,  with 
much  thundering  out  of  his  own  ship,  called  the  Arkroyall  (alias 
the  Triumph),  first  set  upon  the  admirall's  as  he  thought,  of  the 
Spaniards  (but  it  was  Alfonso  de  Leon's  ship).  Soon  after,  Drake, 
Hawkins,  and  Frobisher  played  stoutly  with  their  ordnance  on 
the  hindmost  squadron,  which  was  commanded  by  Recalde." 
The  Spaniards  soon  discover  the  superior  "  nimbleness  of  the 
English  ships  ;  "  and  Recalde's  squadron,  finding  that  they 
are  getting  more  than  they  give,  in  spite  of  his  endeavors,  hurry 
forward  to  join  the  rest  of'the  fleet.     Medina  the  Admiral,  finding 


WESTWARD  HO!  467 

his  ships  scattering  fast,  gathers  them  into  a  half-moon  ;  and  the 
Armada  tries  to  keep  solemn  way  forward,  like  a  stately  herd  of 
buftaloes,  who  march  on  across  the  prairie,  disdaining  to  notice 
the  wolves  which  snarl  around  their  track.  But  in  vam.  These 
are  no  wolves,  but  cunning  hunters,  swiftly  horsed  and  keenly 
armed,  and  who  will  "  shamefully  shuffle  "  (to  use  Drake's  own 
expression)  that  vast  herd  from  the  Lizard  to  Portland,  from 
Portland  to  Calais  Roads  ;  and  who,  even  in  this  short  two  hours' 
fight,  have  made  many  a  Spaniard  question  the  boasted  invinci-4 
blcness  of  this  Armada. 

One  of  the  four  great  galliasses  is  already  riddled  with  shot,  to 
the  great  disarrangement  of  her  "  pulpits,  chapels,"  and  friars  there- 
in assistant.  The  fleet  has  to  close  round  her,  or  Drake  and 
Hawkins  will  sink  her  ;  in  effecting  which  manoeuvre,  the  "  prin- 
cipal galleon  of  Seville,"  in  which  are  Pedro  de  Valdez  and  a  host 
of  blue-blooded  Dons,  runs  foul  of  her  neighbor,  carries  away 
her  foremast,  and  is,  in  spite  of  Spanish  chivalry  left  to  her  fate. 
This  does  not  look  like  victory,  certainly.  But  courage  !  though 
Valdez  be  left  behind,  "  our  Lady,"  and  the  saints,  and  the  Bull 
Coena  Domini  (dictated  by  one  whom  I  dare  not  name  here),  are  with 
them  still,  and  it  were  blasphemous  to  doubt.  But  in  the  mean- 
while, if  they  have  fared  no  better  than  this  against  a  third  of 
the  Plymouth  fleet,  how  will  they  fare  when  those  forty  belated 
ships,  which  are  already  whitening  the  blue  between  them  and 
the  Mewstone,  enter  the  scene  to  play  their  part .? 

So  ends  the  first  day  ;  not  an  English  ship,  hardly  a  man,  is 
hurt.  It  has  destroyed  forever,  in  English  minds,  the  prestige  of 
boastful  Spain.  It  has  justified  utterly  the  policy  which  the  good 
Lord  Howard  had  adopted  by  Raleigh's  and  Drake's  advice,  of 
keeping  up  a  running  fight,  instead  of  "  clapping  ships  together 
without  consideration."  in  which  case,  says  Raleigh,  "he  had 
been  lost,  if  he  had  not  been  better  advised  than  a  great  many 
malignant  fools  were,  who  found  fault  with  his  demeanor." 

Be  that  as  it  may,  so  ends  the  first  day,  in  which  Amyas  and 
the  other  Bideford'  ships  have  been  right  busy  for  two  hours, 
knocking  holes  in  a  huge  galleon,  which  carries  on  her  poop  a 
maiden  with  a  wheel,  and  bears  the  name  of  Sta.  Catharina.  She 
had  a  coat  of  arms  on  the  flag  at  lier  sprit,  probably  those  of  the 
commandant  of  soldiers;  but  they  were  shot  away  early  in  the 
fight,  so  Aymas  cannot  tell  whether  they  were  De  Soto's  or  not. 
Nevertheless,  there  is  plenty  of  time  for  private  revenge  ;  and 
Amyas  called  off  at  last  by  the  Admiral's  signal,  goes  to  bed  and 
sleeps  soundly. 

But  ere  he  has  been  in  his  hammock  an  hour,  he  is  awakened 
by  Gary's  coming  down  to  ask  for  orders. 

"  We  were  to  follow  Drake's  lantern,  Amyas  ;  but  where  it  is,  I 
can't  see,  unless  he  has  been  taken  up  aloft  there  among  the  stars 
for  a  new  Drakium  Sid  us." 

Amyas  turns  out  grumbling  :  but  no  lantern  is  to  be  seen  ; 
only  a  sudden  explosion  and  a  great  fire  on  board  some  Spaniard. 


468  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

which  is  gradually  got  under,  while  they  kave  to  lie-to  the  wholt 
night  long,  with  nearly  the  whole  fleet. 

The  next  morning  finds  them  off  Torbay  ;  and  Amyas  is  hailed 
by  a  pinnace,  bringing  a  letter  from  Drake,  which  (saving  the 
spelling,  which  was  somewhat  arbitrary,  like  most  men's  in  those 
days)  ran  somewhat  thus  : 

"  Dear  Lad, 

"  I  have  been  wool-gathering  all  night  after  five  great  hulks, 
which  the  Pixies  transfigured  overnight  into  galleons,  and  this 
morning  again  into  German  merchantmen.  1  let  them  go  with  my 
blessing  ;  and  coming  back,  fell  in  (God  be  thanked  1)  with  Valdez* 
great  galleon  ;  and  in  it  good  booty,  which  the  Dons  his  fellows 
had  left  behind,  like  faithful  and  valiant  comrades,  and  the  Lord 
Howard  had  let  slip  past  him,  thinking  her  deserted  by  her  crew. 
I  have  sent  to  Dartmouth  a  sight  of  noblemen  and  gentlemen, 
maybe  a  half-hundred  ;  and  Valdez  himself,  who  when  I  sent  my 
pinnace  aboard  must  needs  stand  on  his  punctilios,  and  propound 
conditions.  I  answered  him,  I  had  no  time  to  tell  with  him  ;  if  he 
would  needs  die,  then  I  was  the  very  man  for  him  ;  if  he  would 
live,  then,  buena  querra.  He  sends  again,  boasting  that  he  was 
Don  Pedro  Valdez,  and  that  it  stood  not  with  his  honor,  and  that 
of  the  Dons  in  his  company.  I  replied,  that  for  my  part,  I  was 
Francis  Drake,  and  my  matches  burning.  Whereon  he  finds  in 
my  name  salve  for  the  wounds  of  his  own,  and  comes  aboard,  kiss- 
ing my  fist,  with  Spanish  lies  of  holding  himself  fortunate  that  he 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  fortunate  Drake,  and  much  more, 
which  he  might  have  kept  to  cool  his  porridge.  But  I  have  much 
news  from  him  (for  he  is  a  leaky  tub)  ;  and  among  others,  this, 
that  your  Don  Guzman  is  aboard  of  the  Sta.  Catharina,  command- 
ant of  her  soldiery,  and  has  his  arms  flying  at  her  sprit,  beside  Sta. 
Catharina  at  the  poop,  which  is  a  maiden  with  a  wheel,  and  is  a 
lofty  built  ship  of  3  tier  of  ordnance,  from  which  God  preserve 
you,  and  send  you  like  luck  with 

"  Your  deare  Friend  and  Admirall, 

F.  Drake. 

"She  sails  in  this  squadron  of  Recalde.  The  Armada  was 
minded  to  smoke  us  out  of  Plymouth  ;  and  God's  grace  it  was  they 
tried  not :  but  their  orders  from  home  are  too  strait,  and  so  the 
slaves  fight  like  a  bull  in  a  tether,  no  farther  than  their  rope,  find- 
ing thus  the  devil  a  hard  master,  as  do  most  in  the  end.  They 
cannot  compass  our  quick  handling  and  tacking,  and  take  us  for 
very  witches.  So  far  so  good,  and  better  to  come.  You  and  I 
know  the  length  of  their  foot  of  old.  Time  and  light  will  kill  any 
hare,  and  they  will  find  it  a  long  wav  from  Start  to  Dunkirk." 

"  The  Admiral  is  in  a  gracious  humor,  Leigh,  to  have  vouch- 
safed you  so  long  a  letter." 

"  St.  Catharine  !  why,  that  was  the  galleon  we  hammered  nil 
ycsfc^raay  !  "  said  Amyas,  stamping  on  the  deck. 


WESTWAJ^D  HO  t  4O9 

*•  Of  course  it  was.  Well,  we  shall  find  her  again,  doubt  not. 
That  cunning  old  Drake  !  how  he  has  contrived  to  line  his  own 
pockets,  even  though  he  had  to  keep  the  whole  fleet  waiting  for 
him." 

"  He  has  given  the  Lord  High  Admiral  the  dor,  at  all  events. 

"  Lord  Howard  is  too  high-hearted  to  stop  and  plunder,  Papist 
though  he  is,  Amyas," 

Amyas  answered  by  a  growl,  for  he  worshipped  Drake,  and  v/as 
not  too  just  to  Papists. 

The  fleet  did  not  find  Lord  Howard  till  nightfall  ;  he  and  Lord 
Sheffield  had  been  holding  on  steadfastly  the  whole  night  after  the 
Spanish  lanterns,  with  two  ships  only.  At  least  there  was  no  doubt 
now  of  the  loyalty  of  English  Roman  Catholics,,  and,  indeed, 
throughout  the  fight,  the  Howards  showed  (as  if  to  wipe  out  the 
slurs  which  had  been  east  on  their  loyalty  by  fanatics)  a  desperate 
courage,  which  might  have  thrust  less  prudent  men  into  destruc- 
tion, but  led  them  only  to  victory.  Soon  a  large  Spaniard  drifts 
by,,  deserted  and  partly  burnt.  Some  of  the  men  are  for  leaving 
their  places  to  board  her  ;  but  Amyas  stoutly  refuses.  He  has 
"  come  out  to  fight,  and  not  to  plunder  ;  so  let  the  nearest  ship  to 
her  have  her  luck  without  grudging."  They  pass  on,  and  the  men 
pull  long  faces  when  they  see  the  galleon  snapped  up  by  their  next 
neighbor,  and  towed  off  to  Weymouth,  where  she  proves  to  be  the 
ship  of  Miguel  d'Oquenda,  the  Vice-Admiral,  which  they  saw  last 
night,  all  but  blown  up  by  some  desperate  Netherland  gunner, 
who,  being  "  mis-used,"  was  minded  to  pay  off"  old  scores  on  his 
tyrants. 

And  so  ends  the  second  day ;  while  the  Portland  rises  higher 
and  clearer  every  hour.  The  next  morning  finds  them  off"  the 
island.  Will  they  try  Portsmouth,  though  they  have  spared  Ply- 
mouth ?  The  wind  has  shifted  to  the  north,  and  blows  clear  and 
cool  off"  the  white-walled  downs  of  Weymouth  Bay.  The  Span- 
iards turn  and  face  the  English.  They  must  mean  to  stand  off 
and  on  until  the  wind  shall  change,  and  then  to  try  for  the  Needles. 
At  least,  they  shall  have  some  work  to  do  before  they  round  Pur- 
beck  Isle. 

The  English  go  to  the  westward  again  ;  but  it  is  only  to  return 
on  the  opposite  tack  ;  and  now  begin  a  series  of  manceuvres, 
each  fleet  trying  to  get  the  wind  of  the  other  ;  but  the  struggle 
does  not  last  long,  and  ere  noon  the  English  fleet  have  slipped 
close-hauled  between  the  Armada  and  the  land,  and  are  coming 
down  upon  them  right  before  the  wind. 

And  now  begins  a  fight  most  fierce  and  fell.  "  And  fight  they 
did  confusedly,  and  with  variable  fortunes  ;  while,  on  the  one 
hand,  the  English  manfully  rescued  the  ships  of  London,  which 
were  hemmed  in  by  the  Spaniards  ;  and,  on  the  other  side;  the 
Spaniards  as  stoutly  delivered  Recalde  being  in  danger."  *  "  Never 
was  heard  such  thundering  of  ordnance  on  both  sides,  which  not- 
withstanding from  the  Spaniards  flew  for  the  most  part  over  the 
English  vv'ittiaut  hanri.<     Only  Cock,,  an  Englishman  "  ^whofO 


470  IVESTIVARD  I/Of 

Prince  claims,  I  hope  rightfully,  as  a  worthy  of  Devon),  "  dic;cl 
with  honor  in  the  midst  of  the  enemies  in  a  small  ship  of  his. 
For  the  English  ships,  being  far  the  lesser,  charged  the  enemy 
with  marvellous  agility  ;  and  having  discharged  their  broad- 
sides, tlew  forth  presently  into  the  deep,  and  levelled  their  shot 
directly,  without  missing,  at  those  great  and  unwieldy  Spanish 
ships."  "  This  was  the  most  furious  and  bloody  skirmish  of  all  " 
(though  ending  only  it  seems,  in  the  capture  of  a  great  Venetian 
and  some  small  craft),  "  in  which  the  Lord  Admiral  tightin^ 
amidst  his  enemies'  fleet,  and  seeing  one  of  his  captains  -afar  otf 
(Fenner  by  name,  he  who  fought  the  seven  Portugals  at  the 
Azores),  cried,  '  O  George,  what  doest  thou  ?  Wilt  thou  nov/ 
frustrate  my  hope  and  opinion  conceived  of  thee  ?  Wilt  thou  for- 
sake me  now  ?  *  With  which  words  he  being  enflamed,  ap- 
proached, and  did  the  part  of  a  most  valiant  captain  ;  "  as,  indeed, 
did  all  the  rest. 

Night  falls  upon  the  floating  volcano  ;  and  morning  finds  them  far 
pifst  Purbeck,  with  the  white  peak  of  Freshwater  ahead  ;  and 
and  pouring  out  past  the  Needles,  ship  after  shijD,  to  join  the  gal- 
lant cha$e.  For  now  from  all  havens,  in  vessels  fitted  out  at  their 
own  expense,  fiock  the  chivalry  of  England  ;  the  Lords  Oxford, 
Northumberland,  and  Cumberland,  Pallavjcin,  Brooke,  Carew, 
Raleigh,  and  Blunt,  and  many  another  honorable  name,  *'as  to 
a  set  field,  where  immortal  fame  and  honor  was  to  be  attained." 
Spain  has  staked  her  chivalry  in  that  mighty  cast  ;  not  a  noble 
house  of  Arragon  or  Castile  but  has  lent  a  brother  or  a  son — and 
shall  mourn  the  loss  of  one  :  and  England's  gentlemen  will  meas- 
ure their  strength  once  for  all  against  the  Cavaliers  of  Spain. 
Lord  Howard  has  sent  forward  light  craft  into  Portsmouth  for 
ammunition  :  but  they  will  scarce  return  to-night,  for  the  wind 
falls  dead,  and  all  the  evening  the  two  fleets  drift  helpless  with 
the  tide,  and  shout  idle  defiance  at  each  other  with  trumpet,  fife 
and  drum. 

The  sun  goes  down  upon  a  glassy  sea,  and  rises  on  a  glassy  sea 
again.  But  what  day  is  this  ,^  The  twenty-fifth,  St.  James's'-day, 
sacred  to  the  patron  saint  of  Spain.  Shall  nothing  be  attempted 
in  his  honor  by  those  whose  forefathers  have  so  often  seen  him 
with  their  bodily  eyes,  charging  in  their  van  upon  his  snow-white 
steed,  and  scattering  Paynims  with  celestial  lance  ?  He  might 
have  sent  them,  certainly,  a  favoring  breeze  ;  perhaps,  he  only 
means  to  try  their  faith  fat  least  the  galleys  shall  attack;  and 
in  their  van  three  of  the  great  galliasses  ^the  fourth  lies  half- 
crippled  among  the  fleet)  thrash  the  sea  to  foam  with  three  hun- 
dred oars  apiece  ;  and  see,  not  St.  James  leading  them  to  victory, 
but  Lord  Howard's  Triumph,  his  brother's  Lion,  Southwell's 
Elizabeth  Jonas,  Lord  Sheffield's  Bear,  Barker's  Victory,  and 
George  Fenner's  Leicester,  towed  stoutly  out,  to  meet  them  with 
such  salvoes  of  chain-shot,  smashing  oars,  and  cutting  .rigging 
that  had  not  the  wind  sprung  up  again  toward  noon,  and  the 
Spanish  fleet  come  up  to  rescue  them,  they  had  shared  the  fate  oi 


WESTIVA/<D  HO  / 


47^ 


Valdez  and  the  Biscayan.  And  now  the  fight  becomes  general. 
Frobisher  beats  down  the  Spanish  Admiral's  mainmast ;  and, 
attacked  himself  by  Mexia  and  Recalde,  is  rescued  by  Lord 
Howard  ;  who,  himself  endangered  in  his  turn,  is  rescued  in  his 
turn  ;  "  while  afterthat  day  "  (so  sickened  were  they  of  the  English 
gunnery),  "  no  galliasse  would  adventure  to  fight." 

And  so,  with  variable  fortune,  the  fi^ht  thunders  on  the  live- 
long afternoon,  beneath  the  virgin  cliffs  of  Freshwater  ;  while 
myriad  sea-fowl  rise  screaming  up  from  every  ledge,  and  spot 
with  their  black  wings  the  snow-white  wall  of  chalk  ;  and  the 
lone  shepherd  hurries  down  the  slopes  above  to  peer  over  the 
dizzy  edge,  and  forgets  the  wheatear  fluttering  in  his  snare,  while 
he  gazes  trembling  upon  glimpses  of  tall  masts  and  gorgeous 
flags,  piercing  at  times  the  league-broad  veil  of  sulphur-smoke 
which  welters  far  below. 

.  So  fares  St.  James's-day,  as  Baal's  did  on  Carmel  in  old  time, 
*•  Either  he  is  talking,  or  he  is  pursuing,  or  he  is  on  a  journey  ; 
or  peradventure  he  sleepeth,  and  must  be  awaked."  At  least,  the 
only  fire  by  which  he  has  answered  his  votaries,  has  been  that 
of  English  cannon  :  and  the  Armada,  "  gathering  itself  into  a 
roundel,"  will  fight  no  more,  but  make  the  best  of  its  way  to 
Calais,  where  perhaps  the  Guises'  faction  may  have  a  French 
force  ready  to  assist  them,  and  then  to  Dunkirk,  to  join  with 
Parma  and  the  great  flotilla  of  the  Netherlands. 

So  on,  before  "  a  fair  Etesian  gale,"  which  follows  clear  and 
bright  out  of  the  south-south-west,  glide  forward  the  two  great 
fleets,  past  Brighton  Cliffs  and  Beachy  Head,  Hastings  and  Dunge- 
ness.  Is  it  a  battle  or  a  triumph  .''  For  by  sea  Lord  Howard, 
instead  of  fighting  is  rewarding  ;  and  after  Lord  Thomas  Howard, 
Lord  SheflEield,  Townsend,  and  Frobisher  have  received  at  his 
hands  that  knighthood,  v/hich  was  then  more  honorable  than  a 
peerage,  old  Admiral  Hawkins  kneels  and  rises  up  Sir  John,  and 
shaking  his  shoulders  after  the  accolade,  observes  to  the  represent- 
ative of  majesty,  that  his  "  old  woman  will  hardly  know  herself 
again,  when  folks  call  her  My  Lady." 

And  meanwhile  the  cliffs  are  lined  with  pikemen  and  musketeers, 
and  by  every  countryman  and  groom  who  can  bear  arms,  led  by 
,their  squires  and  sheriffs,  marching  eastward  as  fast  as  their 
weapons  let  them,  towards  the  Dover  shore.  And  not  with  them 
alone.  From  many  a  mile  inland  come  down  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  aged  folk  in  wagons,  to  join  their  feeble  shouts,  and 
prayers  which  are  not  feeble,  to  that  great  cry  of  mingled  faith  and 
fear  which  ascends  to  the  throne  of  God  from  the  spectators  of 
Britain's  Salamis. 

Let  them  pray  on.  The  danger  is  not  over  yet,  though  Lord 
'Howard  has  had  news  from  Newhaven. that  the  Guises  will  not 
'Stir  against  England,  and  Seymour  and  Winter  have  left  their 
'■post  of  observation  on  the  Flemish  shores,  to  make  up  the  number 
'of  the  fleet  to  an  hundred  and  forty  sail — larger,  slightly,  than  that 
iof  the  Spanish  fleet,  but  of  not  more  than  helf  the  tonnage,  or  on© 


473 


IVESTIVARD  HO  ! 


third  the  number  of  men.  The  Spaniards  are  dispirited  and  bat- 
tered, but  unbroken  still  ;  and  as  they  slide  to  their  anchorage  in 
Calais  Roads  on  the  Saturday  evening  of  that  most  memorable 
week,  all  prudent  men  know  well  that  England's  hour  is  come,  and 
that  the  bells  which  will  call  all  Christendom  to  church  upon  the 
morrow  morn,  will  be  either  the  death-knell  or  the  triumphal  peal 
of  the  Reformed  faith  throughout  the  world. 

A  solemn  day  that  Sabbath  must  have  been  in  countr)--  and  in 
town.  And  many  a  light-hearted  coward,  doubtless,  who  had 
scoffed  (as  many  did)  at  the  notion  of  the  Armada's  coming,  be- 
cause he  dare  not  face  the  thought,  gave  himself  up  to  abject  fear, 
"  as  he  now  plainly  saw  and  heard  that  of  which  before  he  would 
not  be  persuaded."  And  many  a  brave  man,  too,  as  he  knelt  be- 
side his  wife  and  daughters,  felt  his  heart  sink  to  the  very  pave- 
ment, at  the  thought  of  what  those  beloved  ones  might  be  endur- 
ing a  few  short  days  hence,  from  a  profligate  and  fanatical  sol- 
diery, or  from  the  more  deliberate  fiendishness  of  the  Inquisition. 
The  massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  the  fires  of  Smithfield,  the  im- 
molation of  the  Moors,  the  extermination  of  the  West  Indians,  the 
fantastic  horrors  of  the  the  Piedmontese  persecution,  which  make 
unreadable  the  too  truthful  pages  of  Morland, — these  were  the 
spectres,  which,  not  as  now,  dim  and  distant  through  the  mist  of 
centuries,  but  recent,  bleeding  from  still  gaping  wounds,  flitted 
before  the  eyes  of  every  Englishman,  and  filled  his  brain  and  heart 
with  fire. 

He  knew  full  well  the  fate  in  store  for  him  and  his.  One  false 
step,  and  the  unspeakable  doom  which,  not  two  generations  after 
wards,  befell  the  Lutherans  of  Magdeburg,  would  have  befallen 
every  town  from  London  to  Carlisle.  All  knew  the  hazard,  as 
they  prayed  that  day,  and  many  a  day  before  and  after,  through- 
out England  and  the  Netherlands.  And  none  knew  it  better  than 
She  who  was  the  guiding  spirit  of  that  devoted  land,  and  the 
especial  mark  of  the  invader's  fury  ;  and  who,  by  some  Divine 
inspiration  (as  men  then  not  unwisely  held),  devised  herself  the 
daring  stroke  which  was  to  anticipate  the  coming  blow. 

But  where  is  Amyas  Leigh  all  this  while  ?  Day  after  day  he 
has  been  seeking  the  Sta.  Catherina  in  the  thickest  of  the  press, 
and  cannot  come  at  her,  cannot  even  hear  of  her  :  one  moment  he 
dreads  that  she  has  sunk  by  night,  and  balked  him  of  his  prey  ;  the 
next,  that  she  has  repaired  her  damages,  and  will  escape  him 
after  all.  He  is  moody,  discontented,  restless,  even  (for  the  first 
time  in  his  life)  peevish  with  his  men.  He  can  talk  of  nothing  but 
Don  Guzman  ;  he  can  find  no  better  employment,  at  every  spare 
moment,  than  taking  his  sword  out  of  the  sheath,  and  handling  it, 
fondling  it,  talking  to  it  even,  bidding  it  not  to  fail  him  in  the  day 
of  vengeance.  At  last,,  he  has  sent  to  Squire,  the  armorer,  for  a 
whetstone,  and,  half-ashamed  of  his  ow^n  folly,  whets  and  polishes 
it  in  by-corners,  muttering  to  himself.  That  one  fixed  thought  of 
selfish  vengeance  has.  possessed  his  whole  mind  ;  he  forgets  Eng- 
land's present- need,  her  past  triumph,  his  own  safety,  everything 


WESTJVAJ^D  HO!  47^ 

but  his  brother's  blood.  And  yet  this  is  the  day  for  which  he  has 
been  longing  ever  since  he  brought  home  that  magic  horn  as  a 
fifteen  years  boy  ;  the  day  when  he  should  find  himself  face  to  face 
with  an  invader,  and  that  invader  Antichrist  himself.  He  has 
believed  for  years  with  Drake,  Hciwkins,  Grenvile,  and  Raleigh, 
that  he  was  called  and  sent  into  the  world  only  to  fight  the 
Spaniard  :  and  he  is  fighting  him  now,  in  such  a  cause,  for  such  a 
stake,  within  such  battle-lists,  as  he  will  never  see  again  :  and  yet 
he  is  not  content  ;  and  while  throughout  that  gallant  fleet,  whole 
crews  are  receiving  the  Communion  side  by  side,  and  rising  w^ith 
cheerful  faces  to  shake  hands,  and  to  rejoice  that  they  are  sharers 
in  Britain's  Salamis,  Amyas  turns  away  from  the  holy  elements. 

"I  cannot  communicate,  Sir  John.  Charity  with  all  men  ? 
I  hate,  if  ever  man  hated  on  earth." 

"  You  hate  the  Lord's  foes  only.  Captain  Leigh." 

•'  No,  Jack,  I  hate  my  own  as  well. " 

"  But  no  one  in  the  fleet,  sir  ? " 

"  Don't  try  to  put  me  off  with  the  same  Jesuit's  quibble  which 
that  false  knave  Parson  Fletcher  invented  for  one  of  Doughty 's 
men,  to  drug  his  conscience  withal  when  he  was  plotting  against 
his  own  admiral.  No,  Jack,  I  hate  one  of  whom  you  know;  and 
somehow  that  hatred  of  him  keeps  me  from  loving  any  human  be- 
ing. I  am  in  love  and  charity  with  no  man.  Sir  John  Brimble- 
combe — not  even  with  you  !  Go  your  ways  in  God's  name,  sir  ! 
and  leave  me  and  the  devil  alone  together,  or  you'll  find  my  words 
are  true." 

Jack  departed  with  a  sigh,  and  while  the  crew  were  receiving 
the  Communion  on  deck,  Amyas  sate  below  in  the  cabin  sharpen- 
ing his  sword,  and  after  it  called  for  a  boat  and  went  on  board 
Drake's  ship  to  ask  news  of  the  Sta.  Catharina,  and  listened  scowl- 
ing to  the  loud  chants  and  tinkling  bells,  which  came  across  the 
water  from  the  Spanish  fleet.  At  last,  Drake  was  summoned  by 
the  Lord  Admiral,  and  returned  with  a  secret  commission  which 
ought  to  bear  fruit  that  night  ;  and  Amyas,  who  had  gone  with 
him,  helped  him  till  nightfall,  and  then  returned  to  his  own  ship 
as  Sir  Amyas  Leigh,  Knight,  to  the  joy  and  glory  of  every  soul  on 
board,  except  his  moody  self 

So  there,  the  livelong  summer  Sabbath-day  before  the  little  high- 
walled  town  and  the  long  range  of  yellow  sandhills,  lie  those  two 
mighty  armaments,  scowling  at  each  other,  hardly  out  of  gunshot. 
Messenger  after  messenger  is  hurrying  towards  Bruges  to  the 
Duke  of  Parma,  for  light  craft  which  can  follow  these  nimble  Eng- 
lish somewhat  better  then  their  own  floating  castles  ;  and  above  all, 
entreating  him  to  put  to  sea  at  once  with  all  his  force.  The  duke 
is  not  with  his  forces  at  Dunkirk,  but  on  the  future  field  of  Water- 
loo, paying  his  devotions  to  St.  Mary  of  Halle  in  Hainault,  in  order 
to  make  all  sure  in  his  Pantheon,  and  already  sees  in  visions  of  the 
night  that  gentle-souled  and  pure-lipped  saint,  Cardinal  Allen,  plac- 
ing the  crown  of  England  on  his  head.  He  returns  for  answer  ; 
first,  that  his  victual  is,  not  rcsidy  ;.  next,  that  his  Dutch  sailors, 


474  WESTWARD  HOI 

who  have  been  kept  at  their  post  for  many  a  week  at  the  sword's 
point,  have  run  away  like  water  ;  and  thirdly,  that  over  and  above 
all  he  cannot  come,  so  "  strangely  provided  of  great  ordnance  and 
musketeers  "  are  those  five-and-thirty  Dutch  ships,  in  which  round- 
sterned  and  stubborn-hearted  heretics  watch,  like  terriers  at  a  rat's 
hole,  the  entrance  of  Nieuwport  and  Dunkirk.  Having  ensured 
the  private  patronage  of  St.  Mary  of  Halle,  he  will  return  to- 
morrow to  make  experience  of  its  effects  :  but  only  hear  across 
the  flats  of  Dixmude  the  thunder  of  the  fleets,  and  at  Dunkirk  the 
open  curses  of  his  officers.  For  while  he  has  been  praying  and 
nothing  more,  the  English  have  been  praying,  and  something 
more  ;  and  all  that  is  lelt  for  the  Prince  of  Parma  is,  to  hang  a  few 
purveyors,  as  peace  offerings  to  his  sulking  army,  and  then 
"  chafe,"  as  Drake  says  of  him,"  like  a  bear  robbed  of  fier  whelps," 

For  Lord  Henry  Seymour  has  brought  Lord  Howard  a  letter  of 
command  from  Elizabeth's  self ;  and  Drake  has  been  carrying  it  out 
so  busily  all  that  Sunday  long,  that  by  two  o'clock  on  the  Monday 
morning,  eight  fire-ships  "  besmeared  with  wildfire,  brimstone, 
pitch,  and  resin,  and  all  their  ordnance  charged  with  bullets  and 
with  stones,"  are  stealing  down  the  wind  straight  for  the  Spanish 
fleet,  guided  by  two  valiant  men  of  Devon,  Young  and  Prowse, 
(Let  their  names  live  long  in  the  land  !)  The  ships  are  fired,  the 
man  of  Devon  steal  back,  and  in  a  moment  more,  the  heaven  is  red 
with  glare  from  Dover  Cliffs  to  Gravelines  Tower  ;  and  wear}^- 
hearted  Belgian  boors  far  away  inland,  plundered  and  dragooned 
for  many  a  hideous  year,  leap  from  their  beds,  and  fancy  (and  not 
so  far  wrongly  either)  that  the  day  of  judgment  is  come  at  last,  to 
end  their  woes,  and   hurl  down   vengeance  on  their  tyrants. 

And  then  breaks  forth  one  of  those  disgraceful  panics,  which  so 
often  follow  overweening  presumption  ;  and  shrieks,  oaths,  prayers 
and  reproaches,  make  night  hideous.  There  are  those  too  on  board 
who  recollect  well  enough  Jenebelli's  fire-ships  at  Antwerp  three 
years  before,  and  the  wreck  which  they  made  of  Parma's  bridge 
across  the  Scheldt.  If  these  should  be  like  them  !  And  cutting  all 
cables,  hoisting  any  sails,  the  Invincible  Armada  goes  lumbering- 
wildly  out  to  sea,  every  ship  foul  of  her  neighbor. 

The  largest  of  the  four  galliasses  loses  her  rudder,  and  drifts 
helpless  to  and  fro,  hindering  and  confusing.  The  duke,  having 
(so  the  Spaniards  say)  weighed  his  anchor  deliberately  instead  of 
leaving  it  behind  him,  runs  in  again  after  awhile,  and  fires  a  signal 
for  return  :  but  his  truant  sheep  are  deaf  to  the  shepherd's  pipe, 
and  swearing  and  praying  by  turns,  he  runs  up  Channel 
towards  Gravelines  picking  up  'stragglers  on  his  way,  who  are 
struggling  as  they  best  can  among  the  flats  and  shallows  :  but 
Drake  and  Fenner  have  arrived  as  soon  as  he.  When  Monday's 
sun  rises  on  the  quaint  old  castle  and  muddy  dykes  of  Grave- 
lines  town,  the  thunder  of  the  cannon  recommences,  and  is  not 
hushed  till  night.  Drake  can  hang  coolly  enough  in  the  rear  to 
plunder  when  he  thinks  fit  ;  but  when  the  battle  needs  it,  none 
can  fi^ht  more  fiercely,  among  the  foremost;  and  th?re  is  need 


WESTWARD  HO  !  475 

now,  if  ever.  That  Armada  must  never  be  allowed  to  re-foriiu 
If  it  does,  its  left  wing  may  yet  keep  the  English  at  bay,  while 
its  right  drives  off  the  blockading  Hollanders  from  Dunkirk  port 
and  sets  Parma  and  his  flotilla  free  to  join  them,  and  to  sail  m 
doubled  strength  across  to  the  mouth  of  Thames. 

So  Drake  has  weighed  anchor,  and  away  up  Channel  with  all 
his  squadron,  the  moment  that  he  saw  the  Spanish  fleet  corne  up  ; 
and  with  him  Fenner  burning  to  redeem  the  honor  which,  in- 
deed, he  had  never  lost ;  and  ere  Fenton,  Beeston,  Crosse,  Ryman, 
and  Lord  Southwell  can  join  them,  the  Devon  ships  have  been 
worrying  the  Spaniards  for  two  full  hours  into  contusion  worse 
confounded. 

But  what  is  that  heavy  firing  behind  them  ?  Alas  for  the  great 
galliasse  !  She  lies,  like  a  huge  stranded  whale,  upon  the  sands 
where  now  stands  Calais  pier  ;  and  Amyas  Preston,  the  future 
hero  of  La  Guayra,  is  pounding  her  into  submission,  while  a  fleet 
of  hoys  and  drumblers  look  on  and  help,  as  jackals  might  the 
lion. 

Soon,  on  the  south-west  horizon,  loom  up  larger  and  larger  two 
mighty  ships,  and  behind  them  sail  on  sail.  As  they  near  a  shout 
greets  the  Triumph  and  the  Bear  ;  and  on  and. in  the  Lord  High 
Admiral  glides  stately  into  the  thickest  of  the  fight. 

True,  we  have  still  but  some  three-and-twenty  ships  which  can 
cope  at  all  with  some  ninety  of  the  Spaniards  :  but  we  have  dash, 
and  daring,  and  the  inspiration  of  utter  need.  Now,  or  never, 
must  the  mighty  struggle  be  ended.  We  worried  them  off  Port- 
land ;  we  must  rend  them  in  pieces  now  ;  and  in  rushes  ship  after 
ship,  to  smash  her  broadsides  through  and  through  the  wooden 
castles,  "sometimes  not  a  pike's  length  asunder,"  and  then  out 
again  to  re-load,  and  give  place  meanwhile  to  another.  The 
smaller  are  fighting  with  all  sails  set  ;  Ihe  few  larger,  who,  once 
in,  are  careless  about  coming  out  again,  fight  with  topsails  loose, 
and  their  main  and  foreyards  close  down  on  deck,  to  prevent 
being  boarded.  The  duke,  Oquenda,  and  Recalde,  having  with 
much  ado  ^ot  clear  of  the  shallows,  bear  the  brunt  of  the  fight  to 
seaward  ;  but  in  vain.  The  day  goes  against  them  more  and 
more,  as  it  runs  on.  Seymour  and  Winter  have  battered  the  great 
San  Philip  into  a  wreck;  her  masts  are  gone  by  the  board  ; 
Pimentelli  in  the  San  Matthew  comes  up.  to  take  the  mastiffs  off 
the  fainting  bull,  and  finds  them  fasten  on  him  instead  ;  but  the 
Evangelist,  though  smaller,  is  stouter  than  the  Deacon,  and^of  all 
the  shot  poured  "into  him,  not  twenty  "lackt  him  thorough."  His 
masts  are  tottering  ;  but  sink  or  strike  he  will  not. 

••  Go  ahead,  and  pound  his  tough  hide,  Leigh,"  roars  Drake  off 
the  poop  of  his  ship,  while  he  hammers  awav  at  one  of  the  great 
galliasses.     •'  What  right  has  he  to  keep  us  all  Waiting  ?  " 

Amyas  slips  in  as  best  he  can  between  Drake  and  Winter  ;  as 
he  passes  he  shouts  to  his  ancient  enemy, — 

"  We  are  with  you,  sir  ;  all  friends  to-day  !  "  and  slipping 
round   Winter's  bows,  he  pours  his  broadside  into  those  of  thf. 


476  li^ESTWARD  NO  / 

San  Matthew,  and  then  glides  on  to  re-load  ;  but  not  to  retui'n. 
For  not  a  pistol  shot  to  leeward,  worried  by  three  or  four  small 
craft,  lies  an  immense  galleon  ;  and  on  her  poop — can  he  believe 
his  eyes  for  joy  ? — the  maiden  and  the  wheel  which  he  has  sought 
so  long! 

"  There  he  is  !  "  shouts  Amyas,  springing  to  the  starboard  side 
of  the  ship.  The  men  too,  have  already  caught  sight  ot  that 
hated  sign  ;  a  cheer  of  fury  bursts  from  every  throat. 

"  Steady  men  !  says  Amyas  in  a  suppressed  voice.  "  Not 
a  shot  !  Re-load,  and  be  ready  ;  I  must  speak  with  him  first  ;  " 
and  silent  as  the  grave,  amid  the  infernal  din,  the  Vengeance 
glides  up  to  the  Spaniard's  quarter. 

••  Don  Guzman  Maria  Magdalena  Sotomayor  de  Soto  !  "  shouts 
A-niyas  from  the  mizzen  rigging,  loud  and  clear  amid  the  roar. 

He  has  not  called  in  vain.  Fearless  and  graceful  as  ever,  the 
tall,  mail-clad  figure  of  his  foe  leaps  up  upon  the  poop-railing, 
twenty  feet  above  Amyas 's  head,  and  shouts  through  his  vizor, — 
"  At  your  service,  sir  !  whosoever  you  may  be." 
A  dozen  muskets  and  arrows  are  levelled  at  hini  ;  but  Amyas 
frowns  them  down.  "  No  man  strikes  him  but  I.  Spare  him,  if 
you  kill  every  other  soul  on  board.  Don  Guzman  !  I  am  Captain 
Sir  Amyas  Leigh  ;  I  proclaim  you  a  traitor  and  a  ravisher,  and 
challenge  you  once  more  to  single  combat,  when  and  where  you 
will." 

"  You  are  welcome  to  come  on  board  me,  sir,"  answers  the 
Spaniard  in  a  clear,  quiet  tone  ;  "  bringing  with  you  this  answer, 
that  you  lie  in  your  throat ;  "  and  lingering  a  moment  out  of  bravado, 
to  arrange  his  scarf,  he  steps  slowly  down  again  behind  the  bul- 
warks. 

"  Coward  !"  shouts  Amyas  at  the  top  of  his  voice. 
The  Spaniard  re-appears  instantly.     "Why  that  name,  Senor, 
of  all  others  ?"  asks  he  in  a  cool,  stern  voice. 

"Because  we  call  men  cowards  in  England,  who  leave  their 
wives  to  be  burnt  alive  by  priests.' 

The  moment  the  words  had  passed  Amyas's  lips,  he  felt  that  they 
were  cruel  and  unjust.  But  it  was  too  late  to  recall  them.  The 
Spaniard  started,  clutched  his  sword-hilt,  and  then  hissed  back 
through  his  closed  vizor, — 

"  For  that  word,  sirrah,  you  hang  at  my  yard-arm,  if  Saint  Mary 
gives  me  grace." 

"  See  that  your  halter  be  a  silken  one,  then,"  laughed  Amyas, 
"  for  I  am  just  dubbed  knight."  And  he  stepped  down  as  a  storm 
of  bullets  rang  through  the  rigging  round  his  head  ;  the  Spaniards 
are  not  as  punctilious  as  he. 

"Fire  !  "-  His  ordnance  crash  through  the  stern-works  of  the 
Spaniard  :  arid  then  he  sails  onward,  while  her  balls  go  humming 
harmlessly  through  his  rigging. 

Half-an-hour  has  passed  of  wild  noise  and  fury;  three  times 
has  the  Vengeance,  as  a  dolphin  might,  sailed  clean  round  and 
Found  the-  Sta.Catharina,  pouring  in  broadside  after  broadside, 


WESTWAIiD  HO!  ^7*! 

till  the  guns  are  leaping  to  the  deck-beams  with  their  own  htat, 
and  the  Spaniard's  sides  are  slit  and  spotted  in  a  hundred  places, 
^nd  yet,  so  high  has  been  his  fire  in  return,  and  so  strong  the 
deck  defences  of  the  Vengeance,  that  a  few  spars  broken,  and  two 
or  three  men  wounded  by  musketry,  are  all  her  loss.  But  still  the 
Spaniard  endures,  magnificent  as  ever  ;  it  is  the  battle  of  the 
thresher  and  the  whale  ;  the  end  is  certain,  but  the  work  is  long. 

"Can  I  help  you,  Captain  Leigh  ?  "  asked  Lord  Henry  Seymour, 
as  he  passes  within  oar's  length  of  him,  to  attack  a  ship  a-head. 
"  The  San  Matthew  has  had  his  dinner,  and  is  gone  on  to  Medina 
to  ask  for  a  digestive  to  it." 

"  I  thank  your  Lordship  :  but  this  is  my  private  quarrel,  ofwhich 
I  spoke.     But  if  your  Lordship  could  lend  me  powder " 

"  Would  that  I  could  !  But  so,  I  fear,  says  every  other  gentle- 
man in  the  fleet." 

A  puff  of  wind  clears  away  the  sulphurous  veil  for  a  moment ; 
the  sea  is  clear  of  ships  towards  the  land  ;  the  Spanish  fleet  are 
moving  again  up  Channel,  Medina  bringing  up  the  rear:  only 
some  two  miles  to  their  right  hand,  the  vast  hull  of  the  San  Philip 
is  drifting  up  the  shore  with  the  tide,  and  somewhat  nearer  the 
San  Matthew  is  hard  at  work  at  her  pumps.  They  can  see  the 
white  stream  of  water  pouring  down  her  side. 

"Go  in,  my  Lord,  and  have  the  pair,"  shouts  Amyas. 

*•  No,  sir  !  Forward  is  a  Seymour's  cry.  We  will  leave  them 
to  pay  the  Flushingers'  expenses."  And  on  went  Lord  Henry, 
and,  on  shore  went  the  San  Philip  at  Ostend,  to  be  plundered  by 
the  Flushingers  ;  while  the  San  Matthew,  whose  captain,  "  on  a 
hault  courage,"  had  refused  to  save  himself  and  his  gentlemen  on 
board  Medina's  ship,  went  blundering  miserably  into  the  hungry 
mouths  of  Captain  Peter  Vanderduess  and  four  other  valiant 
Dutchmen,  who,  like  prudent  men  of  Holland,  contrived  to  keep 
the  galleon  afloat  till  they  had  emptied  her,  and  then  "hung  up 
her  banner  in  the  great  church  of  Leyden,  being  of  such  a  length, 
that  being  fastened  to  the  roof,  it  reached  unto  the  very  ground." 

But  in  the  meanwhile,  long  ere  the  sun  had  set,  comes  down 
the  darkness  of  the  thunder-storm,  attracted,  as  to  a  volcano's 
mouth,  to  that  vast  mass  of  sulphur-smoke  which  cloaks  the  sea 
for  many  a  mile  ;  and  heaven's  artillery  above  makes  answer  to 
man's  below.  But  still,  through  smoke  and  rain,  Amyas  clings 
to  his  prey.  She  too  has  seen  the  northward  movement  of  the 
Spanish  fleet,  and  sets  her  topsails  ;  Amyas  calls  to  the  men  to  fire 
high,  and  cripple  her  rigging  :  but  in  vain  :  for  three  or  four  be- 
lated galleys,  having  forced  their  way  at  last  over  the  shallows, 
come  flashing  and  sputtering  up  to  the  combatants,  and  take  his 
fire  off  the  galleon.  Amyas  grinds  his  teeth,  and  would  fain  hustle 
into  the  thick  of- the  press  once  more,  in  spite  of  the  galley's  beaks. 

"  Most  heroical  captain,"  says  Cary,  pulling  a  long  face  ;  "  if  we 
do,  we  are  stove  and  sunk  in  five  minutes  ;  not  to  mention  that 
Yeo  says  he  has  not  twenty  rounds  of  great  cartridge  left." 

So,  surely  and  silent,  the  Vengeance  sheers  off,  but  keeps  as  near 


^  J  8  WESTIVAI^D  HO  ! 

as  she  can  to  the  little  squadron,  all  through  the  night  of  rain  and 
thunder  which  follows.  Next  morning  the  sun  rises  on  a  clear 
sky,  with  a  strong  west-north-west  breeze,  and  all  hearts  are  ask- 
ing what  the  day  will  bring  forth. 

They  are  long  past  Dunkirk  now  ;  the  German  Ocean  is  open- 
ing before  them.  The  Spaniards,  sorely  battered,  and  lessened  in 
numbers,  have,  during  the  night,  regained  some  sort  of  order. 
The  English  hang  on  their  skirts  a  mile  or  two  behind.  They 
have  no  ammunition,  and  must  wait  for  more.  To  Amyas's great 
disgust,  the  Sta.  Catharina  has  rejoined  her  fellows  d'uring  the 
night. 

"  Never  mind,"  says  Gary  ;  "  she  can  neither  dive  nor  fly,  and 
as  long  as  she  is  above  water,  we — What  is  the  Admiral  about  .''  " 

He  is  signalling  Lord  Henry  Seymour  and  his  squadron.  Soon 
they  tack,  and  come  down  the  wind  for  the  coast  of  Flanders. 
Parma  must  be  blockaded  still  ;  and  the  Hollanders  are  likely  to 
be  too  busy  with  their  plunder  to  do  it  effectually.  Suddenly  there 
is  a  stir  in  the  Spanish  fleet.  Medina  and  the  rearmost  ships  turn 
upon  the  English.  What  can  it  mean  ?  Will  they  offer  battle 
once  more  ?  If  so,  it  were  best  to  get  out  of  their  way,  for  we  have 
nothing  wherewith  to  fight  them.  So  the  English  lie  close  to  the 
wind.  They  will  let  them  pass,  and  return  to  their  old  tactic  of 
following  and  harassing. 

"Good-bye  to  Seymour,"  says  Gary,  "if  he  is  caught  between 
them  and  Parma's  flotilla.     They  are  going  to  Dunkirk." 

"  Impossible  !  They  will  not  have  water  enough  to  reach  his 
light  craft.  Here  comes  a  big  ship  right  upon  us  !  Give  him  all 
you  have  left,  lads  ;  and  if  he  will  fight  us,  lay  him  alongside,  and 
die  boarding." 

They  gave  him  what  they  had,  and  hulled  him  with  every  shot; 
but  his  huge  side  stood  silent  as  the  grave.  He  had  not  where- 
withal to  return  the  compliment. 

"As  I  live,  he  is  cutting  loose  the  foot  of  his  mainsail  !  the 
villain  means  to  run." 

"  There  go  the  rest  of  them  !  Victoria  !  "  shouted  Gary,  as  one 
after  another,  every  Spaniard  set  all  the  sail  he  could. 

There  was  silence  for  a  few  minutes  throughout  the  English 
fleet  ;  and  then  cheer  upon  cheer  of  triumph  rent  the  skies.  It 
was  over.  The  Spaniard  had  refused  battle,  and  thinking  only 
of  safety,  was  pressing  downward  toward  the  Straits  again.  The 
Invincible  Armada  had  cast  away  its  name,  and  England  was 
saved. 

"  But  he  will  never  get  there,  sir,"  said  old  Yeo,  who  had  come 
upon  deck  to  murmur  his  Nunc  Domine,  and  gaze  upon  that  sight 
beyond  all  human  faith  or  hope  :  "  Never,  never  will  he  weather 
the  Flanders  shore,  against  such  a  breeze  as  is  coming  up.  Look 
to  the  eye  of  the  wind,  sir,  and  see  how  the  Lord  is  fighting  for 
His  people    " 

Yes,  down  it  came,  fresher  and  stiiTer  every  minute  out  of  the 
gray  north-west,  as  it  does  so  often  after  a  thunder-storm  ;  and  the 


WESTWARD  HO!  479 

sea  began  to  rise  high  and  white  under  the  "  Claro  Aquilone,"till 
the  Spaniards  were  fain  to  take  in  all  spare  canvas,  and  lie-to  as 
best  they  could  ;  while  the  English  fleet,  lying-to  also,  awaited  an 
event  which  was  in  God's  hands  and  not  in  theirs. 

"  They  will  be  all  ashore  on  Zealand  before  the  afternoon,"  mur- 
mured Amyas  ;  "  and  I  have  lost  my  labor  !  Oh,  for  powder, 
powder,  powder  !  to  go  in  and  finish  it  at  once  !  " 

"  Oh,  sir,"  said  Yeo,  "  don't  murmur  against  the  Lord  in  the 
very  day  of  his  mercies.  It  is  hard,  to  be  sure  ;  but  His  will  be 
done." 

"Could  we  not  borrow  powder  from  Drake  there  ? 
"  Look  at  the  sea,  sir  !  " 

And,  indeed  the  sea  was  far  too  rough  for  any  such  attempt. 
The  Spaniards  neared  and  neared  the  fatal  dunes,  which  fringed 
the  shore  for  many  a  dreary  mile  ;  and  Amyas  had  to  wait  weary 
hours,  growling  like  a  dog  who  has  had  the  bone  snatched  out  of 
his  mouth,  till  the  day  wore  on  ;  when,  behold,  the  wind  began 
to  fall  as  rapidly  as  it  had  risen.  A  savage  joy  rose  in  Amyas'ft 
heart. 

••  They  are  safe  !  safe  for  us  !  Who  will  go  and  beg  us  powder  ? 
A  cartridge  here  and  a  cartridge  there  ?— anything  to  set  to  work 
again  !  " 

Cary  volunteered,  and  returned  in  a  couple  of  hours  with  some 
quantity  :  but  he  was  on  board  again  only  just  in  time,  for  the 
south-wester  had  recovered  the  mastery  of  the  skies,  and  Spaniards 
and  English  were  moving  away  ;  but  this  time  northward. 
Whither  now  ?  To  Scotland  ?  Amyas  knew  not,  and  cared  not, 
provided  he  was  in  the  company  of  Don  Guzman  de  Soto. 

The  Armada  was  defeated,  and  England  saved.  But  such  great 
undertakings  seldom  end  in  one  grand  melodramic  explosion  of 
fireworks,  through  which  the  devil  rises  in  full  roar  to  drag  Dr. 
Faustus  forever  into  the  flaming  pit.  On  the  contrary,  the  devil 
stands  by  his  servants  to  the  last,  and  tries  to  bring  off  his  shat- 
tered forces  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying  ;  and,  if  possible, 
to  lull  his  enemies  into  supposing  that  the  fight  is  ended,  long  be- 
fore it  really  is  half  over.  All  which  the  good  Lord  Howard  of 
Effingham  knew  well,  and  knew,  too,  that  Medina  had  one  last 
card  to  play,  and  that  was  the  filial  affection  of  that  dutiful  and 
chivalrous  son,  James  of  Scotland.  True,  he  had  promised  faith 
to  Elizabeth  :  but  that  was  no  reason  why  he  should  keep  it.  He 
had  been  hankering  and  dabbling  after  Spain  for  years  past,  for 
its  absolutism  was  dear  to  his  inmost  soul  ;  and  Queen  Elizabeth 
had  had  to  warn  him,  scold  him,  call  him  a  liar,  for  so  doing;  so 
the  Armada  might  still  find  shelter  and  provision  in  the  Firth  of 
Forth.  But  whether  Lord  Howard  knew  or  not,  Medina  did  not 
know,  that  Elizabeth  had  played  her  cards  cunningly,  in  the  shape 
of  one  of  those  appeals  to  the  purse,  which,  to  James's  dying  day, 
overweighed  all  others  save  appeals  to  his  vanity.  "  The  title  of  a 
dukedom  in  England,  a  yearly  pension  of  £5000,  a  guard  at  the 
queen's  charge,  and  other  matters  "  (probably  more  hounds  and 


4^^  Westward  HO! 

deer),  had  steeled  the  heart  of  the  King  of  Scots,  and  sealed  the 
Firth  of  Forth.  Nevertheless,  as  I  say,  Lord  Howard,  like  the 
rest  of  Elizabeth's  heroes,  trusted  James  just  as  much  as  James 
trusted  others  ;  and  therefore  thougnt  good  to  escort  the  Armada 
until  it  was  safely  past  the  domains  of  that  most  chivalrous  and 
truthful  Solomon.  But  on  the  4th  of  August,  his  fears,  such  as 
they  were,  were  laid  to  rest.  The  Spaniards  left  the  Scottish  coast 
and  sailed  away  for  Norway  ;  and  the  game  was  played  out,  and 
the  end  was  come,  as  the  end  of  such  matters  generally  come,  by 
gradual  decay,  petty  disaster,  and  mistake  ;  till  the  snow-moun- 
tain, instead  of  being  blown  tragically  and  heroically  to  atoms, 
melts  helplessly  and  pitiably  away. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 
HOW  AMYAS   THREW   HIS   SWORD   INTO  THE  SEA. 

"  Full  fathoms  deep  thy  father  lies  ; 
Of  his  bones  are  coral  made  ; 
Those  are  pearls  which  were  his  eyes ; 

Nothing  of  him  that  doth  fade, 
But  doth  suffer  a  sea-change 

Into  something  rich  and  strange  ; 
Fairies  hourly  rinj^  his  knell. 
Hark  !  I  hear  them.     Ding  dong  bell." 

The  Tempest 

Yes,  it  is  over  ;  and  the  great  Armada  is  vanquished.  It  is  lulled 
for  awhile,  the  everlasting  war  which  is  in  heaven,  the  battle  of 
Iran  and  Turan,  of  the  children  of  light  and  of  darkness,  of 
Michael  and  his  angels  against  Satan  and  his  fiends  ;  the  battle 
which  slowly  and  seldom,  once  in  the  course  of  many  centuries, 
culminates  and  ripens  into  a  day  of  judgment,  and  becomes  pal- 
pable and  incarnate  ;  no  longer  a  mere  spiritual  fight,  but  one  of 
flesh  and  blood,  wherein  simple  men  may  choose  their  sides  with- 
out mistake,  and  help  God's  cause  not  merely  with  prayer  and 
pen,  but  with  sharp  shot  and  cold  steel.  A  day  of  judgment  has 
come,  which  has  divided  the  light  from  the  darkness,  and  the 
sheep  from  the  goats,  and  tried  each  man's  work  by  the  fire  ;  and, 
behold,  the  devil's  work,  like  its  maker,  is  proved  to  have  been, 
as  always,  a  lie,  and  a  sham,  and  a  windy  boast,  a  bladder  which 
collapses  at  the  merest  pin-prick.  Byzantine  empires,  Spanish 
Armadas,  triple-crowned  Papacies,  Russian  Despotisms,  this  is 
the  way  of  them,  and  will  be  to  the  end  of  the  world.  One  brave 
blow  at  the  big  bullying  phantom,  and  it  vanishes  in  sulphur- 
stench  ;  while  the  children  of  Israel,  as  of  old,  see  the  Egyptians 
dead  on  the  sea-shore, — they  scarce  know  how,  save  that  God  has 
done  it, — and  sing  the  song  of  Moses  and  of  the  Lamb. 

And  now,  from  England  and  the   Netherlands,  from  Germany 


WES  tWARD  HOe  4  §  f 

and  Geneva,  and  those  poor  Vaudois  shepherd-saints,  whose 
bones  for  generations  past 

'*  Lie  scattered  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold  ;  " 

to  be,  indeed,  the  seed  of  the  Church,  and  a  germ  of  new  life, 
liberty,  and  civilization,  even  in  these  very  days  returning  good 
for  evil  to  that  Piedmont  which  has  hunted  them  down  Tike  the 
partridges  on  the  mountains  ; — from  all  of  Europe,  from  all  of 
mankind,  I  had  almost  said,  in  which  lay  the  seed  of  future  virtue 
and  greatness,  of  the  destinies  of  the  new-discovered  world,  and 
the  triumphs  of  the  coming  age  of  science,  arose  a  shout  of  holy 
joy,  such  as  the  world  had  not  heard  for  many  a  weary  and  bloody 
century  ;  a  shout  which  was  the  prophetic  birth  paean  of  North 
America,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  the  Pacific  Islands,  of  free 
commerce  and  free  colonization  over  the  whole  earth. 

"There  was  in  England,  by  the  commandment  of  her  Majesty," 
says  Van  Meteran  ;  and  likewise  in  the  United  Provinces,  by  the 
direction  of  the  States,  a  solemn  festival  day  publicly  appointed, 
wherein  all  persons  were  solemnly  enjoined  to  resort  unto  ye 
Church,  and  there  to  render  thanks  and  praises  unto  God,  and 
ye  preachers  were  commanded  to  exhort  ye  people  thereunto.  The 
aforesaid  solemnity  was  observed  upon  the  29th  of  November  ; 
which  day  was  wholly  spent  in  fasting,  prayer,  and  giving  of 
thanks. 

"  Likewise  the  Queen's  Majesty  herself,  imitating  ye  ancient 
Romans,  rode  into  London  in  triumph,  in  regard  of  her  own  and 
her  subjects'  glorious  deliverance,  for  being  attended  upon  very 
solemnly  by  all  ye  principal  Estates  and  officers  of  her  Realm,  she 
was  carried  through  her  said  City  of  London  in  a  triumphant 
Chariot,  and  in  robes  of  triumph,  from  her  Palace  unto  ye  said- 
Cathedral  Church  of  St.  Paul,  out  of  ye  v/hich  ye  Ensigns  and 
Colors  of  ye  vanquished  Spaniards  hung  displayed.  And  all  ye 
Citizens  of  London,  in  their  liveries,  stood  on  either  side  ye  street, 
by  their  several  Companies,  with  their  ensigns  and  banners,  and 
the  streets  were  hanged  on  both  sides  with  blue  Cloth,  which,  to- 
gether with  ys  foresaid  banners,  yielded  a  very  stately  and  gallant 
prospect.  Her  Majestic  being  entered  into  ye  Church  together 
with  her  Clergy  and  Nobles,  gave  thanks  unto  Cod,  and  caused  a 
public  Sermon  to  be  preached  before  her  at  Paul's  Cross  ;  wherfe- 
m  none  other  argument  was  handled,  but  that  praise,  honor,  and 

flory  might  be  rendered  unto  God,  and  that  God's  Name  might 
e  extolled  by  thanksgiving.  And  with  her  own  princely  voice 
she  most  Christianly  exhorted  ye  people  to  do  ye  same  ;  whereunto 
ye  people,  with  a  loud  acclamation,  wished  her  a  most  long  and 
happy  life  to  ye  confusion  of  her  foes." 

Yes,  as  the  medals  struck  on  the  occasion  said,  "  It  came,  it 
saw,  and  it  fled  !  "  And  whither  ?  Away  and  northward,  like  a 
herd  of  frightened  deer,  past  the  Orkneys  and  Shetlands,  catching 
up  a  few  hapless  fisherman  as  guides  ;  past  the  coast  of  Norway, 


^82  WESTWARD  HO  I 

there,  too,  refused  water  and  food  by  the  brave  descendants  of  the 
Vikings ;  and  on  northward  ever  towards  the  lonely  Faroes,  and 
the  everlasting  dawn  which  heralds  round  the  Pole  the  midnight 

Their  water  is  failing  ;  the  cattle  must  go  overboard  ;  and  the 
wild  northern  sea  echoes  to  the  shrieks  of  drowning  horses.  They 
must  homeward  at  least,  somehow,  each  as  best  he  can.  Let 
them  meet  again  at  Cape  Finisterre,  if  indeed  they  ever  meet, 
Medina  Sidona,  with  some  five-and-twenty  of  the  soundest  and 
best  victualled  ships,  will  lead  the  way,  and  leave  the  rest  to  their 
fate.  He  is  soon  out  of  sight  ;  and  forty  more,  the  only  remnant 
of  that  mighty  host,  come  wandering  wearily  behind,  hoping  to 
make  the  south-west  coast  of  Ireland,  and  have  help,  or,  at  least, 
fresh  water  there,  from  their  fellow  Romanists.     Alas  for  them  ! — 

**  Make  Thou  their  way  dark  and  sh'ppery, 
And  follow  them  up  ever  with  Thy  storm." 

For  now  comes  up  from  the  Atlantic,  gale  on  gale  ;  and  few  ol 
that  hapless  remnant  reached  the  shores  of  Spain. 

And  where  are  Amyas  and  the  Vengeance  all  this  while  ? 

At  the  fifty-seventh  degree  of  latitude,  the  English  fleet,  finding 
themselves  growing  short  of  provision,  and  having  been  long  since 
out  of  powder  and  ball,  turn  southward  toward  home,  "thinking 
it  best  to  leave  the  Spaniard  to  those  uncouth  and  boisterous 
northern  seas."  A  few  pinnaces  are  still  sent  onward  to  watch 
their  course  :  and  the  English  fleet,  caught  in  the  same  storms 
which  scattered  the  Spaniards,  "  with  great  danger  and  industry 
reached  Harwich  port,  and  there  provided  themselves  of  victuals 
and  ammunition,"  in  case  the  Spaniards  should  return  ;  but  there 
is  no  need  for  that  caution.  Parma,  indeed,  who  cannot  believe 
that  the  idol  at  Halle,  after  all  his  compliments  to  it,  will  play  him 
so  scurvy  a  trick,  will  watch  for  weeks  on  Dunkirk  dunes,  hoping 
against  hope  for  the  Armada's  return,  casting  anchors,  and  spin- 
ning rigging  to  repair  their  losses. 

"  But  lan^  lang  may  his  ladies  sit, 
With  their  fans  mtill  their  hand. 
Before  they  see  Sir  Patrick  Spens 
Come  sailing  to  the  land." 

The  Armada  is  away  on  the  other  side  of  Scotland,  and  Amyas 
is  following  in  its  wake. 

For  when  the  Lord  High  Admiral  determined  to  return,  Amyas 
asked  leave  to  follow  the  Spaniard  ;  and  asked,  too,  of  Sir  John 
Hawkins,  who  happened  to  be  at  hand,  such  ammunition  and  pro- 
vision as  could  be  afforded  him,  promising  to  repay  the  same  like 
an  honest  man,  out  of  his  plunder  if  he  lived,  out  of  his  estate  if  he 
died;  lodging  for  that  purpose  bills  in  the  hands  of  Sir  John,  who, 
as  a  man  of  business,  took  them,  and  put  them  in  his  pocket  among 
the  thimbles,  string,  and  tobacco  ;  after  which  Amyas,  calling  his 
men  together,  reminded  them  once  more  of  the  story  of  the  Rose 
of  Torridge  and  Don  Guzman  de  Soto,  and  then  asked — 


WESTWARD  HO!  483 

••  Men  of  Bideford,  will  you  follow  me  ?  There  will  be  plunder 
for  those  who  love  plunder  ;  revenge  for  those  who  love  revenge  ; 
and  for  all  of  us  (for  we  all  love  honor)  the  honor  of  having  never 
left  the  chase  as  long  as  there  was  a  Spanish  flag  in  English 
seas. 

And  every  soul  on  board  replied,  that  they  would  follow  Sir 
Amyas  Leigh  around  the  world. 

There  is  no  need  forme  to  detail  every  incident  of  that  long  and 
weary  chase  ;  how  they  found  the  Sta.  Catharina,  attacked  her, 
and  had  to  sheer  off,  she  being  rescued  by  the  rest  ;  how  when 
Medina's  squadron  left  the  crippled  ships  behind,  they  were  all 
but  taken  or  sunk,  by  thrusting  into  the  midst  of  the  Spanish  fleet 
to  prevent  her  escaping  with  Medina  ;  how  they  crippled  her, 
so  that  she  could  not  beat  to  windward  ;  out  into  the  ocean,  but 
was  fain  to  run  south,  past  the  Orkneys,  and  down  through  the 
Minch,  between  Cape  Wrath  and  Lewis  ;  how  the  younger  hands 
were  ready  to  mutiny,  because  Amyas,  in  his  stubborn  haste,  rap 
past  two  or  three  noble  prizes  which  were  all  but  disabled,  among 
others  one  of  the  great  galliasses,  and  the  two  great  Venetians, 
La  Ratta  and  La  Belanzara — which  were  afterwards,  with  more 
than  thirty  other  vessels,  wrecked  on  the  west  coast  of  Ireland  ; 
how  he  got  fresh  water,  in  spite  of  certain  "  Hebridean  Scots  " 
of  Skye,  who,  after  reviling  him  in  an  unknown  tongue,  fought 
with  him  awhile,  and  then  embraced  him  and  his  men  with 
howls  of  affection,  and  were  not  much  more  decently  clad,  nor 
more  civilized,  than  his  old  friends  of  California  ;  how  he  pacified 
his  men  by  letting  them  pick  the  bones  of  a  great  Venetian  which 
was  going  on  shore  upon  Islay  (by  which  they  got  booty  enough 
to  repay  them  for  the  whole  voyage),  and  offended  them  again 
by  refusing  to  land  and  plunder  two  great  Spanish  wrecks  on 
the  Mull  of  Cantire  (whose  crews,  by-the-by,  James  tried  to 
smuggle  off  secretly  into  Spain  in  ships  of  his  own,  wishing  to. 
play,  as  usual,  both  sides  of  the  game  at  once  ;  but  the  Spaniards 
were  stopped  at  Yarmouth  till  the  council's  pleasure  was  known 
—which  was,  of  course,  to  let  the  poor  wretches  go  on  their  way, 
and  be  hanged  elsewhere)  ;  how  they  passed  a  strange  island, 
half  black,  half  white,  which  the  wild  people  called  Raghary,  but 
Cary  christened  it  "the  drowned  magpie  ";  how  the  Sta.  Cath- 
arina was  near  lost  on  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  then  put  into  Castleton 
(where  the  Manx-men  slew  a  whole  boat's-crew  with  their 
arrows),  and  then  put  out  again,  when  Amyas  fought  with  her  a 
whole  day,  and  shot  away  her  mainyard ;  how  the  Spaniard 
blundered  down  the  coast  of  Wales,  not  knowing  whither  he 
went ;  how  they  were  both  nearly  lost  on  Holyhead,  and  again 
on  Bardsey  Island  ;  how  they  got  on  a  lee  shore  in  Cardigan  Bay,, 
before  a  heavy  westerly  gale,  and  the  Sta.  Catharina  ran  aground 
on  Sarn  David,  one  of  those  strange  subaqueous  pebble-dykes 
which  are  said  to  be  the  remnants  of  the  lost  land  of  Gwalior, 
destroyed  by  the  carelessness  of  Prince  Seithenin  the  drunkard,  at 
whose  name  each  loyal  Welshman  spits ;  how  she  got  off  agam 


484  WESTWARD  HO  ! 

at  the  rising  of  the  tide,  and  fought  with  Amyas  a  fourth  time; 
how  the  wind  changed,  and  she  got  round  St.  David's  Head  ;— 
these,  and  many  more  moving  incidents  of  this  eventful  voyage, 
I  must  pass  over  without  details,  and  go  on  to  the  end  ;  for  it  is» 
time  that  the  end  should  come. 

It  was  now  the  sixteenth  day  of  the  chase.  They  had  seen, 
the  evening  before,  St.  David's  Head,  and  then  the  Welsh  coast 
round  Milford  Haven,  looming  out  black  and  sharp  before  the 
blaze  of  the  inland  thunder-storm  ;  and  it  had  lightened  all  round 
them  during  the  fore  part  of  the  night,  upon  a  light  south-western 
breeze. 

In  vain  they  had  strained  their  eyes  through  the  darkness,  t(? 
catch,  bv  the  fitful  glare  of  the  flashes,  the  tall  masts  of  the  Span- 
iard. Of  one  thing  at  least  they  were  certain,  that  with  the  wind 
as  it  was,  she  could  not  have  gone  far  to  the  westward  ;  and  to 
attempt  to  pass  them  again,  and  go  northward,  was  more  than 
she  dare  do.  She  was  probably  lying-to  ahead  of  them,  perhaps 
between  them  and  the  land  ;  and  when,  a  little  after  midnight,  the 
wind  chopped  up  to  the  west,  and  blew  stiffly  till  day-break,  they 
felt  sure  that,  unless  she  had  attempted  the  desperate  expedient 
of  running  past  them,  they  had  her  safe  in  the  mouth  of  the  Bristol 
Channel.  Slowly  and  wearily  broke  the  dawn,  on  such  a  day, 
oS  often  follows  heavy  thunder  ;  a  sunless,  drizzly  day,  roofed  with 
low  dingy  cloud,  barred  and  netted,  and  festooned  with  black,  a 
sign  that' the  storm  is  only  taking  breath  awhile  before  it  bursts 
again  ;  while  all  the  narrow  horizon  is  dim  and  spongy  with 
vapor  drifting  before  a  chilly  breeze.  As  the  day  went  on,  the 
breeze  died  down,  and  the  sea  fell  to  a  long  glassy  foam-flecked, 
roll,  while  overhead  brooded  the  inky  sky,  and  round  them  the 
leaden  mist  shut  out  alike  the  shore  and  the  chase..  -  . 

Amyas  paced  the  sloppy  deck  fretfully  and  fiercely.'  He  knew 
that  the  Spaniard. could  not  escape  ;  but  he  cursed  ever)'  moment 
which  lingeretl  between  him.  and  that  one  great  revenge  which 
blackened  all  his  soul.  The  men  sate  sulkily  about  the  deck,  and 
whistled  for  a  wind  ;  the  sails  flapped  idly  against  the  masts  ;'and 
the  ship  rolled  in  the  long  troughs  of  the  sea,  till  her  yard-arms 
almost  dipped  right  and  left.  ,      ^ 

"  Take  care  of  those  guns.  You  will  have  something  loose  next," 
growled  Amyas. 

"  We  will  take  care  of  the  guns,  if  the  Lord  will  take  care  of  the 
wind,"  said  Yeo. 

"  We  shall  have  plenty  before  night,"  said  Gary,  "  and  thunder 
too." 

"So  much  the  better,"  said  Amyas.  "It  may  roar  till  it  splits 
the  heavens,  if  it  does  but  let  me  get  my  work  done." 

"  He's  not  far  off,  I  warrant,"  said  Gary.  "  One  lift  of  the  cloud, 
and  we  should  see  him." 

"To  windward  of  us,  as  likely  as  not,"  said  Amyas.  "The 
devil  fights  for  him,  I  believe.  To  have. been. on  his  heels  sixteen 
days,  and  not  sent  this  through  him  yfet  ! "  And  he  shook  his 
%w/3id  impatiently. 


So  the  morning  wore  away,  without  a  sign  of  living  thing,  not 
riven  a  passing  gull ;  and  the  bhick  melancholy  of  the  heaven  re- 
flected itself  in  the  black  melancholy  of  Amyas.  Was  he  to  lose 
his  prey  after  all  ?  The  thought  made  him  shudder  with  rage  and 
disappointment.     It  was  intolerable.     Anything  but  that. 

"  No,  God  !  "  he  cried,  "  let  me  but  once  feel  this  in  his  accursed 
heart,  and  then — strike  me  dead,  if  Thou  wilt  !" 

"The  Lord  have  mercy  on  us,"  cried  John  Brimblecombe. 
"What  have  you  said  }  " 

"  What  is  that  to  you,  sir  ?  There,  they  are  piping  to  dinner. 
Go  down.     I  shall  not  come." 

And  Jack  went  down,  and  talked  in  a  half-terrified  whisper  of 
Amyas's  ominous  words. 

All  thought  that  they  portended  some  bad  luck,  except  old  Yeo. 

"  Well,  Sir  John,"  said  he,  "  and  why  not.''  What  better  can 
the  Lord  do  for  a  man,  tnan  lake  nim  nome  when  he  has  done  his 
work  ?  Our  captain  is  wilful  and  spiteful,  and  must  needs  kill  his 
man  himself;  while  for  me,  1  don't  care  how  the  Don  goes,  pro- 
vided he  does  go.  I  owe  him  no  grudge,  nor  any  man.  May  the 
Lord  give  him  repentance,  and  forgive  him  a4l  his  sins  :  but  if  I 
could  but  see  him  once  safe  ashore,  as  he  may  be  ere  nightfall,  on 
the  Mortestone  or  the  back  of  Lundy,  I  would  say,  '  Lord,  now 
lettest  Thou  Thy  servant  depart  in  peace,'  even  if  it  were  the 
lightning  which  was  sent  to  fetch  me." 

"  But,  master  Yeo,  a  sudden  death  ?  " 

"  And  why  not  a  sudden  death.  Sir  John  ?  Even  fools  long  for 
.a  short  life,  and  a  merry  one,  and  shall  not  the  Lord's  people  pray 
for  a  short  death  and  a  merry  one  ?  Let  it  come  as  it  will  to  oIq 
Yeo.     Hark  !  there's  the  captain's  voice  1  " 

'"  Here  she  is  !  "  thundered  Amyas  from  the  deck  ;  and  in  an  in- 
stant all  were  scrambling  up  the  hatchway  as  fast  as  the  frantic 
rolling  of  the  ship  would.let  them. 

Yes.  There  she  was.  The  cloud  had  lifted  suddenly^  and  to 
the  south  a  ragged  bore  of  blue  sky  let  a  long  stream  of  sunshine 
down,  on  her  tall  masts  and  stately  hull,  as  she  lay  rolling  some 
four  or  five  miles  to  tlie  eastward  :  but  as  for  land,  none  was  to  be 

seen! _■„  ■■  '  -  .'  '.  ;.;■; 

.  .  "There  she  is  ;  and  here  we  are,"  said  Cary ;  "  but  where  is 
here  ?  and  where  is  there  ?     How  is  the  tide,  master  ?  " 

"  Running  up  Channel  by  this  time,  sir,"  "  ; ,' 

"  What  matters  the  tide  ?  "  said  Amyas,  devouring  the  ship  with 
terrible  and  cold  blue  eyes.     "  Can't  we  get  at  her  ?  " 

"  Not  unless  some  one  jumps  out  and  shoves  behind,"  said  Cary. 
"I  shall  down  again  and  finish  that  mackerel,  if  this  roll  has 
not  chucked  it  to  the  cockroaches  under  the  table." 

"  Don't  jest,  Will  !  I  can't  stand  it,"  said  Amyas,  in  a  voice 
■which  quivered  so  much  that  Cary  looked  at  him.  His  whole 
frame  was  trembling  like  an  aspen.  Cary  took  his  arm,  and  drew 
him  aside. 

*•  Dear  old  lad,"  said  he,  as  they  leaned  oyer  the  bulwark^ 


486  WESTH^A/iD  HO! 

"what  is  this  !  You  are  not  yourself,  and  have  not  been  these 
*~our  days." 

"No.  lam  not  Amyas  Leigh.  I  am  my  brother's  avenger. 
Do  not  reason  with  me,  Will  :  when  it  is  over  I  shall  be  merry 
old  Amyas  again,"  and  he  passed  his  hand  over  his  brow. 

*'  Do  you  believe,"  said  he,  after  a  moment,  "  that  men  can  be 
possessed  by  devils  .?  " 

•'  The  Bible  says  so." 

"  If  my  cause  were  not  a  just  one,  I  should  fancy  I  had  a  devil  in 
me.  My  throat  and  heart  are  as  hot  as  the  pit.  Would  to  God  it 
were  done,  for  done  it  must  be   !     Now  go." 

Cary  went  away  with  a  shudder.  As  he  passed  down  the  hatch- 
way he  looked  back.  Amyas  had  got  the  hone  out  of  his  pocket, 
and  was  whetting  away  again  at  his  sword-edge,  as  if  there  was 
some  dreadful  doom  on  him,  to  whet,  and  whet  forever. 

The  weary  day  wore  on.  The  strip  of  blue  sky  was  curtained 
over  again,  and  all  was  dismal  as  before,  though  it  grew  sultrier 
every  moment ;  and  now  and  then  a  distant  mutter  shook  the  air 
to  westward.  Nothing  could  be  done  to  lessen  the  distance  be- 
tween the  ships,  for  the  Vengeance  had  had  all  her  boats  carried 
away  but  one,  and  that  was  much  too  small  to  tow  her  :  and  while 
the  men  went  down  again  to  finish  dinner,  Amyas  worked  on  at 
his  sword,  looking  up  every  now  and  then  suddenly  at  the  Span- 
iard, a3  if  to  satisfy  himself  that  it  was  not  a  vision  which  had 
vanished. 

About  tv/o  Yeo  came  up  to  him. 

♦•  He  is  ours  safely  now,  sir.  The  tide  has  been  running  to  the 
eastward  for  this  two  hours." 

•'  Safe  as  a  fox  in  a  trap.  Satan  himself  cannot  take  him  from 
us  !" 

"  But  God  may,"  said  Brimblecombe  simply. 

"  Who  spoke  to  you,  sir  ?  If  I  thought  that  He — There  comes 
the  thunder  at  last  ?" 

And  as  he  spoke  an  angry  growl  from  the  westward  heavens 
seemed  to  answer  his  wild  words,  and  rolled  and  loudened  nearer 
and  nearer,  till  right  over  their  heads  it  crashed  against  some  cloud 
cliff  far  above,  and  all  was  still. 

Each  man  looked  in  the  other's  face  :  but  Amyas  was  unmoved. 

"  The  storm  is  coming,"  said  he,  "  and  the  wind  in  it.  It  will 
be  Eastward-ho  now,  for  once,  my  merry  men  all  !  " 

"Eastward-ho  never  brought  us  luck,"  said  Jack  in  an  undertone 
•,o  Cary.  But  by  this  time  all  eyes  were  turned  to  the  north-west, 
where  a  black  line  along  the  horizon  began  to  define  the  boundary 
of  sea  and  air,  till  now  all  dim  in  mist. 

''  There  comes  the  breeze." 

"  And  there  the  storm,  too." 

And  with  that  strangely  accelerating  pace  which  some  storms 
seem  to  possess,  the  thunder,  which  had  been  growling  slow  and 
seldom  far  away,  now  rang  peal  on  peal  along  the  cloudy  floo- 
fcbove  their  heads.  - 


IVESTWARD  HO!  487 

••  Here  comes  the  breeze.  Round  with  the  yards,  or  we  shall  be 
taken  aback." 

The  yards  creaked  round  ;  the  sea  grew  crisp  around  them  ;  the 
hot  air  swept  their  cheeks,  tightened  every  rope,  filled  every  sail, 
bent  her  over.  A  cheer  burst  tVom  the  men  as  the  helm  went  up. 
and  they  staggered  away  before  the  wind,  right  down  upon  the 
Spaniard,  who  lay  still  becalmed. 

"  There  is  more  behind,  Amyas,"  said  Cary.  "  Shall  we  not 
shorten  sail  a  little  ?" 

"  No.  Hold  on  every  stitch,"  said  Amyas.  "  Give  me  the  helm, 
man.     Boatswain,  pipe  away  to  clear  for  fight.  " 

It  was  done,  and  in  ten  minutes  the  men  were  all  at  quarters, 
while  the  thunder  rolled  louder  and  louder  overhead,  and  the 
breeze  freshened  fast. 

"  The  dog  has  it  now.     There  he  goes  !"  said  Cary. 

"  Right  before  the  wind.     He  has  no  liking  to  face  us." 

"  He  is  running  into  the  jaws  of  destruction,"  said  Yeo.  "An 
hour  more  will  send  him  either  right  up  the  Channel,  or  smack  on 
shore  somewhere." 

"  There  !  he  has  put  his  helm  down.     I  wonder  if  he  sees  land  ?" 

"He  is  like  a  March  hare  beat  out  of  his  country,"  said  Cary, 
"  and  don't  know  whither  to  run  next." 

Cary  was  right.  In  ten  minutes  more  the  Spaniard  fell  off  again, 
and  went  away  dead  down  wind,  while  the  Vengeance  gained  on 
bim  fast.  After  two  hours  more,  the  four  miles  had  diminished  to 
one,  while  the  lightning  flashed  nearer  and  nearer  as  the  storm 
came  up  ;  and  from  the  vast  mouth  of  a  black  cloud-arch  poured 
so  fierce  a  breeze  that  Amyas  yielded  unwillingly  to  hints  which 
were  growing  into  open  murmurs  and  bade  shorten  sail. 

On  they  rushed  with  scarcely  lessened  speed,  the  black  arch 
following  fast,  curtained  by  one  flat,  gray  sheet  of  pouring  rain, 
before  which  the  water  was  boiling  in  a  long  white  line  ;  while 
every  moment  behind  the  watery  veil,  a  keen  blue  spark  leapt 
down  into  the  sea,  or  darted  zigzag  through  the  rain, 

"We  shall  have  it  now,  and  with  a  vengeance ;  this  will  try 
your  tackle,  master,"  said  Cary. 

The  functionary  answered  with  a  shru^,  and  turned  up  the 
collar  of  his  rough  frock,  as  the  first  drops  flew  stinging  round  his 
ears.  Another  minute  and  the  squall  burst  full  upon  them,  in  rain, 
which  cut  like  hail— hail  which  lashed  the  sea  into  froth,  and 
wind  which  whirled  off  the  heads  of  the  surges,  and  swept  the 
waters  into  one  white  seething  waste.  And  above  them,  and 
behind  them,  and  before  them,  the  lightning  leapt  and  ran, 
dazzling  and  blinding,  while  the  deep  roar  of  the  thunder  was 
changed  to  sharp  ear-piercing  cracks. 

"  Get  the  arms  and  ammunition  under  cover,  and  then  below 
with  you  all,"  shouted  Amyas  from  the  helm. 

"  And  heat  the  pokers  in  the  galley  fire,"  said  Yeo,  "  to  be  ready 
if  the  rain  puts  our  linstocks  out.  I  hope  you'll  let  me  stay  oa 
deck,  sir,  in  case *' 


4  S  S  ^£S  TIVARD  HO  f 

"  i  must  have  some  one,  and  who  better  than  you  ?  Can  you 
see  the  chase  ?  " 

No  ;  she  was  wrapped  in  the  gray  whirlwind.  She  might  be 
within  half  a  mile  of  them,  for  aught  they  could  have  seen  of  her. 

And  now  Amyas  and  his  old  liegeman  were  alone.  Neither 
-poke  ;  each  knew  the  other's  thoughts,  and  knew  that  they  vvere 
his  own.  The  squall  blew  fiercer  and  fiercer,  the  rain  poured 
heavier  and  heavier.     Where  was  the  Spaniard  ? 

"  If  he  has  laid-to,  we  may  overshoot  him,  sir  !  " 

"If  he  has  tried  to  lay-to, 'he  will  not  have  a  sail  left  in  the  bolt- 
ropes,  or  perhaps  a.  mast  on  deck.  I  know  the  stiff-neckedness  of 
those  Spanish  tubs.  Hurrah  1  there  he  is,  right  on  our  larboard 
bow  I" 

There  she  was  indeed,  two  musket-shots  off,  staggering  away 
with  canvas  split  and  flying. 

"  He  has  been  tr)'ing  to  hull,  sir,  and  caught  a  buffet,"  said  Yeo, 
rubbing  his  hands.     "  What  shall  we  do  now  ?  " 
.  ".Range  alongside,  if  it  blow  live  imps  and  witches,  and  try  our 
liickonce  rnore.     Pah!  how  this  lightning  dazzles  I  " 

On  tiiey  swept,  gaining  fast  on  the  Spaniard. 

"  Call  the  men  up,  and  to  quarters  ;  the  rain  will  be  over  in  ten 
minutes." 

Yeo  ran  forward  to  the  gangway  ;  and  sprang  back  again,  with 
a  face  white  and  wild — 

"  Land  right  ahead  !  Port  your  helm,  sir  !  For  the  love  of 
God,  port  your  helm  !  " 

Amyas,  with  the  strength  of  a  bull,  jammed  the  helm  down, 
while  Yeo  shouted  to  the  men  below. 

She  swung  round.  The  masts  bent  like  whips  ;  crack  went  the 
fore-sail  like  a  cannon.  What  matter  ?  Within  two  hundred 
yards  of  them  was  the  Spaniard  ;  in  front  of  her,  and  above  her, 
a  huge  dark  bank  rose  through  the  dense  hail,  and  mingled  with 
the  clouds  ;  and  at  its  foot,  plainer  every  moment,  pillars  and 
spout's  of  leaping  foam. 
....  „"  W:hat  is  it,  Morte  ?  Hartland  ?  "  .  . 
•■  It'might  be  anything  for  thirty  miles. 

,  •*'  Lundy  !  "  said  Yeo.  "  The  south  end  !  I  see  the  head  of  the 
Shutter  in  the  breakers!  Hard  a-port  yet,  and  get  her  close- 
hauled  as  you  can,  and  the  Lord  may  have  mercy  on  us  still  !  Look 
at  the  Spaniard  !  " 

Yes,  look  at  the  Spaniard  ! 

On  their  left  hand,  as  they  broached-to,  the  wall  of  granite  sloped 
down  from  the  clouds  toward  an  isolated  peak  of  rock,  some  two 
hundred  feet  in  height.  Then  a  hundred  yards  of  roaring  breaker 
upon  a  sunken  shelf,  across  which  the  race  of  the  tide  poured  like 
a  cataract ;  then,  amid  a  column  of  salt  smoke,  the  Shutter,  like  a 
huge  black  fang,  rose  waiting  for  its  prey  ;  and  between  the  Shut- 
ter and  the  land,  the  great  galleon  loomed  dimly  through  the 
.storm. 


■imSTWARD  HO. I  ^8^^ 

He.  too,  had  -  seen  his  danger,  and  tried  to.  broach-to.  lUit  his 
rlumsy  mass  refused  to  obey  the  helm  ;  he  struggled  a  moment, 
iialfhid  in  foam  ;  fell  away  again,  and  rushed  upon  his  doom. 

"Lost!  lost  !  lost!  "  cried  Amyas  madly,  and  throwing  up  his 
hands,  let  go  the  tiller.     Yeo  caught  it  just  in  time. 

"  Sir  !  sir  !     What  are  you  at  ?     We  shall  clear  the  rock  yet." 

"  Yes  !  "  shouted  Amyas  in  his  frenzy  ;  "but  he  will  not  !  " 

Another  minute.  The  galleon  gave  a  sudden  jar,  and  stopped. 
Then  one  long  heave  and  bound,  as  if  to  free  herself.  And  then 
her  bows  lighted  clean  upon  the  Shutter. 

An  awful  silence  fell  on  every  English  soul.  They  heard  not 
the  roaring  of  Vvind  and  surge  ;  \hey  saw  not  the  blinding  flashes 
of  the  lightning  ;  but  they  heard  one  long  ear-piercing  wail  to  every 
saint  in'heaven  rise  from  five  hundred  human  throats  ;  they  saw  the 
mighty  ship  heel  over  from  the  wind,  and  sweep  headlong  down 
the*  cataract  of  the  race,  plunging  her  yards  into  the  foam,  and 
sliowing  her  whole  black  side  even  to  her  keel,  till  she  rolled  clean 
over,  and  vanished  forever  and  ever. 

•.  "Shame  !"  cried  Amyas,  hurling  his  sword  far  into  the  sea, 
•■'  to  lose  my  right,  my  right !  when  it  was  in  my  very  grasp  !  Un- 
merciful I  " 

A  crack  which  rent  the  sky,  and  make  the  granite  nng  and 
quiver  ;  a  bright  world  of  flame,  and  then  a  blank  of  utter  dark- 
ness, against  which  stood  out,  glowing  red-hot,  every  mast,  and 
sail,  and  rock,  and  Salvation  Yeo  as  he  stood  just  in  front  of  Amyas 
the  tiller  in  his  hand.  All  red-hot,  transfigured  into  fire  ;  and  be: 
hind,  the  black,  black  night. 

A  whisper,  a  rustling  close  beside  him,  and  Brimblecombe's 
Toice  said  softly, — 

"  Give  him  more  wine.  Will  ;  his  eyes  are  opening." 

"  Hey  day  ?  "  said  Amyas  faintly,  "  not  past  the  Shutter  yet ! 
How  long  she  hangs  in  the  wind  !  " 

"We  are  long  past  the  Shutter,  Sir  Amyas,"  said  Brimble- 
combe. 

"Are  you  mad  ?     Cannot  I  trust  my  own  eyes  ?  " 

There  was  no  answer  for  av/hile. 
"    "  We  are  past  the  Shutter,  indeed,"  said  Gary  very  gently:  "  and 
lying  in  the  cove  at  Lund  v." 

"  Will  you  tell  me  that  that  is  not  the  Shutter,  and  that  the 
Devil's-limekiln,  and  that  the  cliff— that  villain  Spaniard  only  gone 
— and  that  Yeo  is  not  standing  here  by  me,  and  Gary  there  for- 
ward, and— why,  by-the-by,  where  are  you.  Jack  Brimblecombe, 
who  were  talking  to  me  this  minute  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Sir  Amyas  Leigh,  dear  Sir  Amyas  Leigh,"  blubbered  poc-' 
Jack,  "put  out 'your  hand,  and  feel  where  you  are,  and  pray  th. 
Lord  to  forgive  you  for  your  wilfulness  !  " 

A  great  trembling  fell  upon  Amyas  Leigh  ;  half  fearfully  he 
put  out  his  hand  ;  he  felt  that  he  was  in  his  hammock,  with  the 


490  WESTWARD  HO! 

deck  beams  close  above  his  head.  The  vision  which  had  been  left 
upon  his  eye-balls  vanished  like  a  dream. 

"What  is  this.^  I  must  be  asleep?  What  has  happened? 
Where  am  I  ?  " 

"  In  your  cabin,  Amyas,"  said  Cary. 

"  What  ?     And  where  is  Yeo  ?  " 

"  Yeo  is  gone  where  he  longed  to  go,  and  as  he  longed  to  go. 
The  same  flash  which  struck  you  down,  struck  him  dead." 

"  Dead  ?  Lightning  ?  Any  more  hurt  ?  I  must  go  and  see. 
Why,  what  is  this  ?  "  and  Amyas  passed  his  hand  across  his  eyes. 
"It  is  all  dark — dark,  as  I  live  !  "  And  he  passed  his  hand  over 
nis  eyes  again. 

There  was  another  dead  silence.     Amyas  broke  it. 

"  Oh,  God  !  "  shrieked  the  great  proud  sea-captain,  "Oh,  God, 
I  am  blind  !  blind  !  blind  !  "  And  writhing  in  his  great  horror, 
he  called  to  Cary  to  kill  him  and  put  him  out  of  his  misery,  and 
then  wailed  for  his  mother  to  come  and  help  him,  as  if  he  had 
been  a  boy  once  more  ;  while  Brimblecombe  and  Cary,  and  the 
sailors  who  crowded  round  the  cabin-door,  wept  as  if  they  too  had 
been  boys  once  more. 

Soon  his  fit  of  frenzy  passed  off,  and  he  sank  back  exhausted. 

They  lifted  him  into  their  remaining  boat,  rowed  him  ashore, 
carried  him  painfully  up  the  hill  to  the  old  castle,  and  made  a  bed 
for  him  on  the  floor,  in  the  very  room  in  which  Don  Guzman  and 
Rose  Salterne  had  plighted  their  troth  to  each  other,  five  wild  years 
before. 

Three  miserable  days  were  passed  within  that  lonely  tower. 
Amyas,  utterly  unnerved  by  the  horror  of  his  misfortune,  and  by 
the  over-excitement  of  the  last  few  weeks,  was  incessantly  deliri- 
ous ;  while  Cary,  and  Brimblecombe,  and  the  men,  nursed  him  by 
turns,  as  sailors  and  wives  only  can  nurse  ;  and  listened  with  awe 
to  his  piteous  self-reproaches  and  entreaties  to  Heaven  to  remove 
that  woe,  which,  as  he  shrieked  again  and  again,  was  a  just  judg- 
ment on  him  for  his  wilfulness  and  ferocity.  The  surgeon  talked, 
of  course,  learnedly  about  melancholic  humors,  and  his  liver's 
being  "  adust  by  the  over-pungency  of  the  animal  spirits,"  and 
then  fell  back  on  the  universal  panacea  of  blood-letting,  which  he 
effected  with  fear  and  trembling  during  a  short  interval  of  pros- 
tration ;  encouraged  by  which  he  attempted  to  administer  a  large 
bolus  of  aloes,  was  knocked  down  for  his  pains,  and  then  thought 
it  better  to  leave  Nature  to  her  own  work.  In  the  meanwhile, 
Cary  had  sent  off  one  of  the  island  skiffs  to  Clovelly,  with  letters  to 
his  father,  and  to  Mrs.  Leigh,  entreating  the  latter  to  come  off  to 
the  island  :  but  the  heavy  westerly  winds  made  that  as  impossible, 
as  it  was  to  move  Amyas  on  board,  and  the  men  had  to  do  their 
best,  and  did  it  well  enough. 

On  the  fourth  day  his  raving  ceased  :  but  he  was  still  too  weak 
to  be  moved.  Toward  noon,  however,  he  called  for  food,  ate  a 
little,  and  seemed  revived. 

"Will,"  he  said,  after  awhile,  "this  room  is  as  stifling  as  it  is 


WESTWARD  HO  f 


491 


dark.  1  feel  as  if  I  should  be  a  sound  man  once  more  if  I  could 
but  get  one  snuff  of  the  sea-breeze." 

The  surgeon  shook  his  head  at  the  notion  of  moving  him  :  but 
Amyas  was  peremptory. 

"  I  am  captain  still,  Tom  Surgeon,  and  will  sail  for  the  Indies, 
if  I  ctioose.  Will  Cary,  Jack  Brimblecombe,  will  you  obey  a  blind 
general  ?  " 

"  What  you  will  in  reason,"  said  they  both  at  once. 

"  Then  lead  me  out,  my  masters,  and  over  the  down  to  the 
Siouth  end.  To  the  point  at  the  south  end  I  must  go  ;  there  is  no 
other  place  will  suit." 

And  he  rose  firmly  to  his  feet,  and  held  out  his  hands  for  theirs. 

"  Let  him  have  his  humor,"  whispered  Cary.  "  It  may  be  the 
working  off  of  his  madness." 

"  This  sudden  strength  is  a  note  of  fresh  fever,  Mr.  Lieutenant," 
said  the  surgeon,  "  and  the  rules  of  the  art  prescribe  rather  a 
fresh  blood-letting." 

Amyas  overheard  the  last  word,  and  broke  out, — 

"  Thou  pig-sticking  Philistine,  wilt  thou  make  sport  with  blind 
Samson  ?  Come  near  me  to  let  blood  from  my  arm,  and  see  if  I 
do  not  let  blood  from  thy  coxcomb.  Catch  him,  Will,  and  bring 
him  me  here  !  " 

The  surgeon  vanished  as  the  blind  giant  made  a  step  forward  ; 
and  they  set  forth,  Amyas  walking  slowly,  but  firmly,  between  his 
two  friends. 

"  Whither  ?  "  asked  Cary. 

"  To  the  south  end.  The  crag  above  the  Devil's-limekiln.  No 
other  place  will  suit." 

Jack  gave  a  murmur,  and  half-stopped,  as  a  frightful  suspicion 
crossed  him. 

"  That  is  a  dangerous  place  !  " 

"  What  of  that  .''  "  said  Amyas,  who  caught  his  meaning  in  his 
tone.  "Dost  think  lam  going  to  leap  over  cliff?  I  have  not 
heart  enough  for  that.  On,  lads,  and  set  me  safe  among  the 
rocks." 

So  slowly,  and  painfully,  they  went  on,  while  Amyas  murmured 
to  himself, — 

"  No,  no  other  place  will  suit  ;  I  can  see  all  thence. 

So  on  they  went  to  the  point,  where  the  cyclopean  wall  of  granite 
cliff  which  forms  the  western  side  of  Lundy,  ends  sheer  in  a  prec- 
ipice of  some  three  hundred  feet,  topped  by  a  pile  of  snow-white 
rock,  bespangled  with  golden  lichens.  As  they  approached,  a 
raven,  who  sat  upon  the  topmost  stone,  black  against  the  bright 
blue  sky,  flapped  lazily  away,  and  sank  down  the  abysses  of  the 
cliff,  as  if  he  scented  the  corpses  underneath  the  surge.  Below 
them  from  the  Gull-rock  rose  a  thousand  birds,  and  filled  the  air 
wifh  sound  ;  the  choughs  cackled,  the  hacklets  wailed,  the  great 
blackbacks  laughed  querulous  defiance  at  the  intruders,  and  a 
single  falcon,  with  an  angry  bark,  dashed  out  from  beneath  their 
feet,  and  hung  poised  high  aloft,  watching  the  sea-fowl  which 
swung  slowly  round  and  round  below. 


49- 


WF.STiVARlJ  J/0  ! 


It  was  a  g-lorious  sight. upon  a  glorious  day.  To  the  northward 
tlie  glens  rushed  down  toward  the  cliff,  crowned  with  gray  crags, 
and  carpeted  wMth  purple  heather  and  green  fern  ;  and  from  their 
feet  stretched  away  to  the  westward  the  sapphire  rollers  of  the 
vast  Atlantic,  crowned  with  a  thousand  crests  of  flying  foam. 
On  their  left  hand,  some  ten  miles  to  the  south,  stood  out  against 
the  sky  the  purple  wall  of  Hartland  cliffs,  sinking  lower  and  lower 
as  they  trended  aw^ay  to  the  southward  along  the  lonely  ironbound 
shores  of  Cornw^all,  until  they  faded,  dim  and  blue,  into  the  blue 
horizon  forty  miles  away. 

The  sky  was  flecked  with  clouds,  whcih  rushed  toward  them 
fast  upon  the  roaring  south-west  wind  ;  and  the  warm  ocean. 
Dreeze  swept  up  the  cliffs,  and  whistled  through  the  heather-bells, 
and  howded  in  cranny  and  in  crag. 

"  Till  the  pillars  and  clef  ts  of  the  granite 
Rang  Jike  a  God-swept  lyre  ;  " 

while  Amyas,  a  proud  smile  upon  his  lips,  stood  breasting  that  genial 
stream  of  airy  wine  with  swelling  nostrils  and  fast-heaving  chest, 
and  seemed  to  drink  in  life  from  every  gust.  All  three  were  silent 
for  awhile  ;  and  Jack  and  Gary,  gazing  downward  with  delight 
upon  the  glory  and  the  grandeur  of  the  sight,  forgot  for  awhile 
that  their  companion  saw  it  not.  Yet  w-hen  they  started  sadly, 
and  looked  into  his  face,  did  he  not  see  it  ?  So  wide  and  eager 
were  his  eyes,  so  bright  and  calm  his  face,  that  they  fancied  for 
an  instant  that  he  was  once  more  even  as  they. 

A  deep  sigh  undeceived  them.  "  I  know  it  is  all  here — the  dear 
old  sea,  where  I  would  live  and  die.  And  my  eyes  feel  for  it ; 
feel  for  it — and  cannot  find  it  ;  never,  never  will  find  it  again  for 
ever  !     God's  will  be  done  !  " 

"  Do  you  say  that  ?  "  asked  Brimblecombe  eagerly. 

"  Why  should  I  not  ?  Why  have  I  been  raving  in  hell-fire  for 
I  know  not  how  many  days,  but  to  find  out  that,  John  Brimble- 
combe, thou  better  man  than  I  ?  " 

■"  Not  that  last :  but  Amen!  Amen!  and  the  Lord  has  in- 
deed had  mercy  upon  thee  !  "  said  Jack,  through  his  honest  tears. 

*'  Amen  !  "  said  Amyas.  *'  Now  set  me  where  I  can  rest  among" 
the  rocks  without  fear  of  falling — for  life  is  sweet  still,  even  with- 
out eyes,  friends — and  leave  me  to  myself  awdiile." 

It  was  no  easy  matter  to  find  a  safe  place  ;  for  from  the  foot  of 
the  crag  the  heathery  turf  slopes  down  all  but  upright,  on  one  side 
to  a  cliff  which  overhangs  a  shoreless  cove  of  deep  dark  sea,  and 
on  the  other  to  an  abyss  even  more  hideous,  where  the  solid  rock 
has  sunk  away,  and  opened  inland  in  the  hillside  a  smooth-walled 
pit,  some  sixty  feet  square  and  some  hundred  and  fifty  in  depth, 
aptly  known  then  as  now,  as  the  Devil's-limekiln  ;  the  mouth  of 
which,  as  old  wives  say,  was  once  closed  by  the  Shutter-rock  itself 
till  the  fiend  in  malice  hurled  it  into  the  sea,  to  be  a  pest  to  man- 
ners. .  A  narrow  and  untrodden  cavern  at  the  bottom  connectj 


IVESTIVAKD  I/O  /  4.93 -, 

it  with  the  outer  sea  ;  they  could  even  then  hear  the  mysterious 
thunder  and  gurgle  of  the  surge  in  the  subterranean  adit,  as  it 
rolled  huge  boulders  to  and  fro  in  darkness,  and  forced  before  it 
gusts  of  pent-up  air.  It  was  a  spot  to  curdle  weak  blood,  and  to 
make  weak  heads  reel  :  but  all  the  fitter  on  that  account  for- 
Amyas  and  his  fancy. 

"  You  can  sit  here  as  in  an  arm-chair,"  said  Car}',  helping  him 
down  to  one  of  those  square  natural  seats  so  common  in  the  gran- 
ite tors. 

"  Good  ;  now  turn  mv  face  to  the  Shutter.  Be  sure  and  exact. 
So.     Do  I  face  it  full  1  " 

"  Full,"  said  Gary. 

"  Then  I  need  no  eyes  wherewith  to  see  what  is  before  me," 
said  he,  with  a  sad  srnile.  "  I  know  every  stone  and  every  head- 
land, and  every  wave  too,  I  may  say,  far  beyond  aught  that  eye 
can  reach.  Now  go,  and  leave  me  alone  with  God  and  with  the 
dead  !  " 

They  retired  a  little  space  and  watched  him.  He  never  stirred 
for  many  minutes  ;  then  leaned  his  elbows  on  his  knees,  and  his 
head  upon  his  hands,  and  so  was  still  again.  He  remained  so 
long  thus,  that  the  pair  became  anxious,  and  went  towards  him. 
He  was  asleep,  and  breathing  quick  and  heavily. 

"  He  will  take  a  fever,"  said  Brimblecombe,  "  if  he  sleeps  much 
longer  with  his  head  down  in  the  sunshine." 

"  We  must  wake  him  gently,  if  we  wake  him  at  all."  And  Gary 
moved  forward  to  him. 

As  he  did  so,  Amyas  lifted  his  head,  and  turning  it  to  right  and 
left,  felt  round  him  with  his  sightless  eyes. 

"You  have  been  asleep,  Amyas." 

"  Have  I  ?  I  have  not  slept  back  my  eyes,  then.  Take  up  this 
great  useless  carcass  of  mine,  and  lead  me  home.  I  shall  buy  rne 
a  dog  when  I  get  to  Burrough,  I  think,  and  make  him  tow  me  in 
a  string,  eh  ?     So!     Give  me  your  hand.     Now  march  !  " 

His  guides  heard  with  surprise  this  new  cheerfulness. 

"  Thank  God,  sir,  that  your  heart  is  so  light  already,"  said  good 
Jack  ;  "  it  makes  me  feel  quite  upraised  myself,  like." 

"  I  have  reason  to  be  cheerful,  Sir  John  ;  I  have  left  a  heavy 
load  behind  me.  I  have  been  wilful,  and  proud,  and  a  blasphemer, 
and  swollen  with  cruelty  and  pride  ;  and  God  has  brought  me  low 
for  it,  and  cut  me  off  from  my  evil  delight.  No  more  Spaniard- 
hunting  for  me  now,  my  masters.  God  will  send  no  such  fools  as 
I  upon  His  errands." 

"  You  do  not  repent  of  fighting  the  Spaniards." 

"Not  I  :  but  of  hating  even  the  worst  of  them.  Listen  to  me. 
Will  and  Jack.  If  that  man  wronged  me,  I  wronged  him  like- 
wise. I  have  been  a  fiend  when  I  thought  myself  the  grandest  of 
men,  yea,  a  very  avenging  angel  out  of  heaven.  But  God  has 
shown  me  my  sin,  and  wc  have  made  up  our  quarrel  forever." 

"  Made  it  up  ?  " 


494  if^ESTWAJ^D  HO  t 

"Made  it  up,  thank  God.  But  I  am  weary.  Set  me  down 
awhile,  and  I  will  tell  you  how  it  befell." 

Wondering,  they  set  him  down  upon  the  heather,  while  the  bees 
hummed  round  ihem  in  the  sun  ;  and  Amyas  felt  for  a  hand  of 
each,  and  clasped  it  in  his  own  hand,  and  began, — 

"  When  you  left  me  there  upon  the  rock,  lads,  I  looked  away 
and  out  to  sea  to  get  one  last  snuff  ot  the  merry  sea-breeze,  which 
will  never  sail  me  again.  And  as  I  looked,  I  tell  you  truth,  I 
could  see  the  water  and  the  sky  ;  as  plain  as  ever  I  saw  them,  till 
I  thought  my  sight  was  come  again.  But  soon  I  knew  it  was  not 
so  ;  for  I  saw  more  than  man  could  see  ;  right  over  the  ocean,  as 
I  live,  and  away  to  the  Spanish  Main.  And  I  saw  Barbados,  and 
Grenada,  and  all  the  isles  that  we  ever  sailed  by ;  and  La  Guayra 
in  Carraccas,  and  the  Silla,  and  the  house  beneath  it  where  she 
lived.  And  I  saw  him  walking  with  her  on  the  barbecu,  and  he 
loved  her  then.  I  saw  what  I  saw  ;  and  he  loved  her  ;  and  I  say 
he  loves  her  still. 

"  Then  I  saw  the  cliffs  beneath  me,  and  the  Gull-rock,  and  the 
Shutter,  and  the  Ledge  ;  I  saw  them,  William  Gary,  and  the  weeds 
beneath  the  merry  blue  sea.  And  I  saw  the  grand  old  galleon. 
Will;  she  has  righted  with  the  sweeping  of  the  tide.  She  lies  in 
fifteen  fathoms,  at  the  edge  of  the  rocks,  upon  the  sand  ;  and  her 
men  are  all  lying  around  her,  asleep  until  the  judgment-day." 

Gary  and  Jack  looked  at  him,  and  then  at  each  other.  His  eyes 
were  clear,  and  bright,  and  full  of  meaning;  and  yet  they  knew 
that  he  was  blind.  His  voice  was  shaping  itself  into  a  song. 
Was  he  inspired  .?  Insane  ?  What  was  it  }  And  they  listened 
with  awe-struck  faces,  as  the  giant  pointed  down  into  the  blue 
depths  far  below,  and  went  on. 

"  And  I  saw  him  sitting  in  his  cabin,  like  a  valiant  gentleman 
of  Spain  ;  and  his  officers  were  sitting  round  him,  with  their 
swords  upon  the  table  at  the  wine.  And  the  prawns  and  the  cray- 
fish and  the  rockling,  they  swam  in  and  out  above  their  heads  ; 
but  Don  Guzman  he  never  heeded,  but  sat  still,  and  drank  his 
wine.  Then  he  took  a  locket  from  his  bosom  ;  and  I  heard  him 
speak.  Will,  and  he  said  :  '  Here's  the  picture  of  my  fair  and  true 
lady  ;  drink  to  her,  Sefiors  all  :*  Then  he  spoke  to  me,  Will,  and 
called  me,  right  up  through  the  oar-weed  and  the  sea  :  '  We  have 
had  a  fair  quarrel,  Sefior  ;  it  is  time  to  be  friends  once  more.  My 
wife  and  your  brother  have  forgiven  me  :  so  your  honor  takes  no 
stain.'  And  I  answered,  '  We  are  friends,  Don  Guzman  ;  God  has 
judged  our  quarrel,  and  not  we.'  Then  he  said,  '  I  sinned,  and  I 
am  punished.'  And  I  said,  'And  Sefior,  so  am  L'  Then  he  held 
out  his  hand  to  me,  Gary  ;  and  I  stooped  to  take  it,  and  awoke." 

He  ceased  :  and  they  looked  in  his  face  again.  It  was  ex- 
hausted, but  clear  and  gentle,  like  the  face  of  a  new-born  babe. 
Gradually  his  head  dropped  upon  his  breast  again  ;  he  was  either 
swooning  or  sleeping,  and  they  had  much  ado  to  get  him  home. 
There  he  lay  for  eight  and  forty  hours,  in  a  quiet  doze  ;  then  arose 
suddenly,  called  for  food,  ate  heartily,  and  seemed,  saving  his  eye 


WESTWA/iD  HO  f  495 

sight;  as  whole  and  sound  as  ever.  The  surgeon  bade  them  get 
him  home  to  Northam  as  soon  as  possible,  and  he  was  willing 
enough  to  go.  So  the  next  day  the  Vengeance  sailed,  leaving  be- 
hind a  dozen  men  to  seize  and  keep  in  the  queen's  name  any  goods 
which  should  be  washed  up  from  the  wreck. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

HOW  AMYAS   LET   THE  APPLE   FALL, 

"  Would  you  hear  a  Spanish  lady, 
How  she  woo'd  an  Englishman  ? 
Garments  gay  and  rich  as  may  be, 
Deck'd  with  jewels  had  she  on." 

EUzabethan  Ballad. 

It  was  the  first  of  October.  The  morning  was  bright  and  still  ; 
the  skies  were  dappled  modestly  from  east  to  west  with  soft  gray 
autumn  cloud,  as  if  all  heaven  and  earth  were  resting  after  those 
fearful  summer  months  of  battle  and  of  storm.  Silently,  as  if 
ashamed  and  sad,  the  Vengeance  slid  over  the  bar,  and  passed 
the  sleeping  sandhills  and  dropped  her  anchor  off  Appledore,  with 
her  flag  floating  half-mast  high  ;  for  the  corpse  of  Salvation  Yeo 
was  on  board, 

A  boat  pulled  off  from  the  ship,  and  away  to  the  western  end  of 
the  strand  ;  and  Gary  and  Brimblecombe  helped  out  Amyas  Leigh, 
and  led  him  slowly  up  the  hill  toward  his  home. 

The  crowd  clustered  round  him,  with  cheers  and  blessings,  and 
sobs  of  pity  from  kind-hearted  women  ;  for  all  in  Appledore  and 
Bideford  knew  well  by  this  time  what  had  befallen  him. 

•*  Spare  me,  my  good  friends," said  Amyas,  "  I  have  landed  here 
that  I  might  go  quietly  home,  without  passing  through  the  town, 
and  being  made  a  gazing-stock.  Think  not  of  me,  good  folks, 
nor  talk  of  me  ;  but  come  behind  me  decently,  as  Christian  men, 
and  follow  to  the  grave  the  body  of  a  better  man  than  I." 

And,  as  he  spoke,  another  boat  came  off,  and  in  it,  covered  with 
the  flag  of  England,  the  body  of  Salvation  Yeo. 

The  people  took  Amyas  at  his  word  ;  and  a  man  was  sent  on  to 
Burrough,  to  tell  Mrs.  Leigh  that  her  son  was  coming.  When  the 
coffin  was  landed  and  lifted,  Amyas  and  his  friends  took  their 
places  behind  it  as  chief  mourners,  and  the  crew  followed  in  order, 
while  the  crowd  fell  in  behind  them,  and  gathered  every  moment ; 
till  ere  they  were  half-way  to  Northam  town,  the  funeral  train 
might  number  full  five  hundred  souls. 

They  had  sent  over  by  a  fishing-skiff  the  day  before  to  bid  the 
sexton  dig  the  grave  ;  and  when  they  came  into  the  churchyard, 
the  parson  stood  ready  waiting  at  the  gate. 

Mrs.  Leigh  stayed  quietly  at  home  ;  for  she  had  no  heart  to  face 
the  crowd  ;  and  though  her  heart  yearned  for  her  son,  yet  she  was 


49^ 


WESTWARD  HO  ! 


well  content  (when  was  she  not  content  ?)  that  he  should  do  honor 
to  his  ancient  and  faithful  servant  ;  so  she  sat  down  "in  the  bay- 
window,  with  Ayacanora  by  her  side  ;  and  when  the  tolling  of  the 
bell  ceased,  she  opened  her  Prayer-book,  and  began  to  read  the 
Burial-service. 

"  Ayacanora,"  she  said,  "  they  are  burying  old  Master  Yeo, 
who  loved  you,  and  sought  you  over  the  wide,  wide  world,  and 
saved  you  from  the  teeth  of  the  crocodile.  Are  you  not  sorry  for 
him,  child,  that  you  look  so  gay  to-day  !  " 

Ayacanora  blushed,  and  hung  down  her  head  ;  she  was  think- 
ing of  nothing,  poor  child,  out  Amyas. 

The  Burial-service  was  done  ;  the  blessing  said  ;  the  parson, 
drew  back  ;  but  the  people  lingered  and  crowded  round  to  look 
at  the  coffin,  while  Amyas  stood  still  at  the  head  of  the  grave. 
It  had  been  dug  by  his  command,  at  the  west  end  of  the  church, 
near  by  the  foot  of  the  tall  gray  wind-swept  tower,  which  watches 
for  a  beacon  far  and  wide  over  land  and  sea.  Perhaps  the  old 
man  might  like  to  look  at  the  sea,  and  see  the  ships  come  out  and 
In  across  the  bar,  and  hear  the  wind,  on  winter  nights,  roar  through 
the  belfry  far  above  his  head.  Why  not  ?  It  was  but  a  fancy  : 
and  yet  Amyas  felt  that  he  too  should  like  to  be  buried  in  such  a 
place  ;  so  Yeo  might  like  it  also. 

Still  the  crowd  lingered  ;  and  looked  first  at  the  grave  and  then 
at  the  blind  giant  who  stood  over  it,  as  if  they  felt,  by  instinct 
that  something  more  ought  to  come.  And  something  more  did 
come.  Amyas  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height,  and  waved  his 
hand  majestically,  as  one  about  to  speak  ;  while  the  eyes  of  all 
men  were  fastened  on  him. 

Twice  he  essayed  to  begin  ;  and  twice  the  words  v/ere  choked 
upon  his  lips  ;  and  then, — 

"Good  people  all,  and  seamen,  among  whom  I  was  bred,  and 
to  whom  I  come  home  blind  this  day,  to  dwell  with  you  till  death 
^— Here  lieth  the  flower  and  pattern  of  all  bold  mariners  ;  the  truest 
of  friends,  and  the  most  terrible  of  foes  ;  unchangeable  of  purpose, 
crafty  of  council,  and  swift  of  execution  ;  in  triumph  most  sober, 
in  failure  (as  God  knows  I  have  found  full  many  a  day)  of  endur- 
ance beyond  mortal  man.  Who  first  of  all  Britons  helped  to 
humble  the  pride  of  the  Spaniard  at  Rio  de  la  Hacha  and  Nombre, 
and  first  oiall  sailed  upon  those  Southern  Seas,  which  shall  be 
hereafter,  by  God's  grace,  as  free  to  English  keels  as  is  the  bay 
outside.  Who  having  afterwards  been  purged  from  his  youthful 
sins  by  strange  afflictions  and  torments  unspeakable,  suffered  at 
the  hands  of  the  Popish  enemy,  learned  therefrom,  my  masters, 
to  fear  God,  and  to  fear  nought  else  ;  and  having  acquitted  him- 
self worthily  in  his  place  and  calling-  as  a  righteous  scourge  of  the 
Spaniard,  and  a  faithful  soldier  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  is  now 
exalted  to  his  reward,  as  Elijah  was  of  old,  in  a  chariot  of  fire  unto 
heaven  :  letting  fall,  I  trust  and  pray,  upon  you  Vv'ho  are  left  be- 
hind the  mantle  of  his  valor  and  his  godliness,  that  so  these  shores 
may  never  be  without  brave  and  pious  mariners,  who  will  count 


PTESTiVARD  HO! 


"^97 


their  lives  as  worthless  in  the  cause  of  their  Country,  their  Bible, 
and  their  Queen.     Amen." 

And  feeling  for  his  companions'  hands  he  walked  slowly  from 
the  churchyard,  and  across  the  village  street,  and  up  the  lane  to 
Burrough  gates  ;  while  the  crowd  made  way  for  him  in  solemn 
silence,  as  for  an  awful  being,  shut  up  alone  with  all  his  strength, 
valor,  and  fame,  in  the  dark  prison-house  of  his  mysterious 
doom. 

He  seemed  to  know  perfectly  when  they  had  reached  the  gates, 
opened  the  lock  with  his  own  hands,  and  went  boldly  forward 
along  the  gravel  path,  while  Cary  and  Brimblecombe  followed 
him  trembling  ;  for  they  expected  some  violent  burst  of  emotion, 
cither  from  him  or  his  mother,  and  the  two  good  fellows'  tender 
hearts  were  fluttering  like  a  girl's.  Up  to  the  door  he  went,  as  if 
he  had  seen  it ;  felt  for  the  entrance,  stood  therein,  and  called 
quietly  "  Mother  !  " 

In  a  moment  his  mother  was  on  his  bosom. 

Neither  spoke  for  awhile.  She  sobbing  inwardly,  with  tearless 
eyes,  he  standing  firm  and  cheerful,  with  his  great  arms  clasped 
around  her. 

"  Mother  !  "  he  said  at  last,  "  I  am  come  home,  you  see,  because 
I  needs  must  come.  Will  you  take  me  in,  and  look  after  this  use- 
less carcase  ?  I  shall  not  be  so  very  troublesome,  mother, — shall 
I  ?  "  and  he  looked  down,  and  smiled  upon  her,  and  kissed  her 
brow. 

She  answered  not  a  word,  but  passed  her  arm  gently  round  his 
waist,  and  led  him  in.        """^ 

"  Take  care  of  your  head,^dear  child,  the  doors  are  low."  And 
they  went  in  together. 

"  Will  !  Jack  !  "  called  Amyas,  turning  round  :  but  the  two  good 
fellows  had  walked  briskly  off.    • 

"  I'm  glad  we  are  away,"  said  Cary  ;  "  I  should  have  made  a 
baby  of  myself  in  another  minute,  watching  that  angel  of  a  woman. 
How  her  face  worked  and  how  she  kept  it  in  !  " 

"Ah,  well  !"  said  Jack,  "there  goes  a  brave  servant  of  the 
queen's  cut  off  before  his  work  was  a  quarter  done.  Heigho  !  I 
must  home  now,  and  see  my  old  father,  and  then " 

"And  then  home  with  me,"  said  Cary.  "  You  and  I  never  part 
again  !  We  have  pulled  in  the  same  boat  too  long.  Jack  ;  and  you 
must  not  go  spending  your  prize-money  in  riotous  living.  I  must 
see  after  you,  old  Jack  ashore,  or  we  shall  have  you  treating  half 
the  town  in  taverns  for  a  week  to  come." 

"Oh,  Mr.  Cary  !  "  said  Jack,  scandalized. 

"Come  home  with  me,  and  we'll  poison  the  parson,  and  my 
father  shall  give  you  the  rectory." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Cary  !  "  said  Jack. 

So  the  two  went  off  to  Clovelly  together  that  very  day. 

And  Amyas  was  sitting  all  alone.  His  mother  had  gone  out 
for  a  few  minutes .  to  speak  to  the  seaman  who  had  brought  up 
Amyas's  luggage,  and  set  them  down  to  cat  and   drink;  and 


49^5  l('£S'nf'AA'jD  HO  ! 

Amyas  sat  in  the  old  bay-window,  where  he  had  sat  when  he  was 
a  little  tiny  boy,  and  read  King  Arthur,  and  Fox's  Martyrs,  and 
The  Cruelties  of  the  Spaniards.  He  put  out  his  hand  and  felt  for 
them  ;  there  thev  lay  side  by  side,  just  as  they  had  lain  twenty 
years  before.  Tne  window  was  open  ;  and  a  cool  air  brought  in 
as  of  old  the  scents  of  the  four-season  roses,  and  rosemary,  and 
autumn  gilliflowers.  And  there  was  a  dish  of  apples  on  the  table  : 
he  knew  it  by  their  smell  ;  the  very  same  old  apples  which  he  used 
to  gather  when  he  was  a  boy.  He  put  out  his  hand,  and  took 
them,  and  felt  them  over,  and  played  with  them,  just  as  if  the 
twenty  years  had  never  been  :  and  as  he  fingered  them,  the 
whole  of  his  past  life  rose  up  before  him,  as  in  that  strange  dream 
which  is  said  to  flash  across  the  imagination  of  a  drowning  man  ; 
and  he  saw  all  the  places  which  he  had  ever  seen,  and  heard  all  the 
words  which  had  ever  been  spoken  to  him — till  he  came  to  that 
fairy  island  on  the  Meta  ;  and  he  heard  the  roar  of  the  cataract 
once  more,  and  saw  the  green  tops  of  the  palm-trees  sleeping  in 
the  sunlight  far  above  the  spray,  and  stept  amid  the  smooth  palm- 
trunks  across  the  flower-fringed  boulders,  and  leaped  down  to  the 
gravel  beach  beside  the  pool :  and  then  again  rose  from  the  fern- 
grown  rocks  the  beautiful  vision  of  Ayacanora — where  was  she  ? 
He  had  not  thought  of  her  till  now.  How  he  had  wronged  her  ! 
Let  be  ;  he  had  been  punished,  and  the  account  was  squared. 
Perhaps  she  did  not  care  for  him  any  longer.  Wh-  would  care 
for  a  ^reat  blind  ox  like  him,  who  must  be  fed  and  tended  like  a 
baby  for  the  rest  of  his  lazy  life  ?  Tut  !  How  long  his  mother 
was  away  !  And  he  began  playing  again  with  his  apples,  and 
thought  about  nothing  but  them,  and  his  climbs  with  Frank  in 
the  orchard  years  ago. 

At  last  one  of  them  slipt  through  his  fingers,  and  fell  on  the 
floor.  He  stooped  and  felt  for  it  :  but  he  could  not  find  it.  Vex- 
atious !  He  turned  hastily  to  search  in  another  direction,  and 
struck  his  head  sharply  against  the  table. 

Was  it  the  pain,  or  the  little  disappointment  ?  or  was  it  the 
sense  of  his  blindness  brought  home  to  him  in  that  ludicrous 
commonplace  w^ay,  and  for  that  very  reason  all  the  more  humil- 
iating }  or  was  it  the  sudden  revulsion  of  overstrained  nerves, 
produced  by  that  slight  shock  ?  Or  had  he  become  indeed  a 
child  once  more  ?  I  know  not  ;  but  so  it  was,  that  he  stamped 
on  the  floor  with  pettishness,  and  then  checking  himself,  burst  into 
a  violent  flood  of  tears. 

A  quick  rustle  passed  him  ;  the  apple  was  replaced  in  his  hand, 
and  Ayacanora's  voice  sobbed  out, — 

"  There  !  there  it  is  !  Do  not  weep  !  Oh,  do  not  weep  !  I  can- 
not bear  it  !  I  will  get  you  all  you  want  !  Only  let  me  fetch  and 
carry  for  you,  tend  you,  feed  you,  and  lead  you,  like  your  slave, 
your  dog  !  Say  that  I  may  be  your  slave  !  "  and  falling  on  her 
knees  at  his  feet,  she  seized  both  his  hands,  and  covered  them 
with  kisses. 

'•  Yes  !  "  she  cried,   "  I  will  be  your  slave  !     I  must  be  1     You 


WESTWARD  HO! 


4t^y 


cannot  help  it !  You  cannot  escape  from  me  now  !  You  cannot 
go  to  sea  !  You  cannot  turn  your  back  upon  wretched  me.  I  have 
you  safe  now  !  Safe  !  "  and  she  clutched  his  hands  triumphantly. 
•'  Ah  !  and  what  a  wretch  I  am,  to  rejoice  in  that  !  to  taunt  him 
with  his  blindness  !     Oh,  forgive  me  !     I  am  but  a  poor  wild  girl 

— a  wild  Indian  savage,  you  know  :  but — but "  and  she  burst 

into  tears. 

A  great  spasm  shook  the  body  and  soul  of  Amyas  Leigh  ;  he 
sat  quite  silent  for  a  minute,  and  then  said  solemnly — 

"  And  is  this  still  possible  ?  Then  God  have  mercy  upon  me  a 
sinner  !  " 

Ayacanora  looked  up  in  his  face  inquiringly  :  but  before  she 
could  speak  again,  he  had  bent  down,  and  lifting  her  as  the  lion 
lifts  the  lamb,  pressed  her  to  his  bosom,  and  covered  her  face  with 
kisses. 

The  door  opened.  There  was  the  rustle  of  a  gown  ;  Ayacanora 
sprang  from  him  with  a  little  cry,  and  stood,  half-trembling,  half- 
defiant,  as  if  to  say — "  He  is  mine  now ;  no  one  dare  part  him 
from  me  ! " 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  asked  Amyas. 

"  Your  mother." 

"  You  see  that  I  am  bringing  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance, 
mother,"  said  he,  with  a  smile. 

He  heard  her  approach.  Then  a  kiss  and  a  sob  passed  between 
the  women  ;  and  he  felt  Ayacanora  sink  once  more  upon  his 
bosom. 

"  Amyas,  my  son,"  said  the  silver  voice  of  Mrs.  Leigh,  low, 
dreamy,  like  the  far-off  chimes  of  angels'  bells  from  out  the  highest 
heaven  ;  "  Fear  not  to  take  her  to  your  heart  again  ;  for  it  is  your 
mother  who  has  laid  her  there." 

••  It  is  true  after  all,"  said  Amyas  to  himself.  •*  What  God  has 
joined  together,  man  cannot  put  asunder." 

From  that  hour  Ayacanora 's  power  of  song  returned  to  her  ; 
and  day  by  day,  year  after  year,  her  voice  rose  up  within  that 
happy  home,  and  soared,  as  on  a  skylark's  wings,  into  the  highest 
heaven,  bearing  with  it  the  peaceful  thoughts  of  the  blind  giant 
back  to  the  Paradises  of  the  West,  in  the  wake  of  the  heroes 
who  from  that  time  forth  sailed  out  to  colonize  another  and  a 
vaster  England,  to  the  heaven  prospered  cry  of  Westward-Ho  ! 


THB  END. 


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